Johannes Hösflot Kläbo dominates the Tour de Ski at will. The Norwegian celebrated his sixth victory in the sixth race.
The Tour de Ski is in the final sprint. On the penultimate stage, the cross-country skiers had to decide in the mass start over 15 kilometers on Saturday (07.01.2023). Johannes Hösflot Kläbo was the benchmark for the competition in the sixth race as well. The Norwegian celebrated his sixth win in a row in Val di Fiemme. Should Kläbo end up at the top of the list in the final on Sunday on Alpe Cernis, he would be the first runner in the history of the Tour to win all stages.
Moch can hope for a top ten place in the final
Friedrich Moch again showed a strong race. The 22-year-old from Isny stayed in the leading group until the end, finishing twelfth just 6.8 seconds behind Kläbo. Before the final mountain run, in which he surprisingly finished third in 2022, Moch is in eleventh place overall and can hope for a top ten finish.
Kläbo runs tactically to success
At the bonus time at kilometer 8.5, Kläbo, the leader in the overall standings, had taken the lead. Moch ran in the leading group in seventh place. The second DSV starter Jonas Dobler was only 45 in the 62-strong field.
But there was still 6.5 kilometers to go to the finish. While Kläbo had slipped to twelfth place at 12.5 kilometers, Moch had caught up with the leader, Calle Halfvarsson. Only 0.3 seconds separated him from the top spot. But tactician Kläbo led the field again just one kilometer later. Moch was 2.3 seconds back. Were the grains enough for a top ten place?
The decision came after 39:59.2 minutes. In the final sprint, Kläbo prevailed ahead of his teammate Paal Goldberg (+0.4 seconds) and Francesco de Fabiani (ITA). Goldberg and de Fabiani shared second place after photo finish. Moch finished 12th, Dobler 48th.