Diggins Takes Tour Triumph Number Two
Jessie Diggins with the Tour de Ski trophy. Diggins was crowned the 2023/24 Tour de Ski champion on Sunday after holding back the opponents in the final climb, claiming her second overall title in the competition.
The 32-year-old cross-country superstar, who is still USA's only Tour winner after her 2020/21 triumph, had a 43-second lead in the overall rankings before the women's 10km mass start free in Val di Fiemme, Italy, and made sure no competitor got anywhere near her.
Finishing sixth, 48.5 seconds behind teammate Sophia Laukli who won the race, Diggins did what she had to do to claim the overall victory by more than half a minute's margin.
Norway's two-time Tour winner Heidi Weng grabbed the second-place in the race as well as in the overall standings as Finland's Kerttu Niskanen, who finished fourth before Diggins in the exhausting climb, took the last spot on the overall podium.
Diggins, who won the Tour with four podium finishes, including a first place in the 25km free pursuit in Toblach, Italy, on New Year's Day, was happy but exhausted after the challenging last event.
”It was really painful. Breathing hurts and I am excited for some time to rest,” the winner said.
Her teammate Sophia Laukli claimed the victory in the last stage, as Rosie Brennan (USA) finished 12th to secure a 12th-place in the overall rankings.
Overall Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup leader Diggins said she would celebrate ”with my team, because this was their victory too.”
With two triumphs on the Tour, Diggins, puts USA on par with Sweden and Finland in third place after Norway (7) and Poland (4) as the countries with most women’s Tour de Ski wins.
Weng, who claimed back-to-back Tour de Ski victories in 2026/17 and 2017/18, had been in sixth position in the overall rankings before Sunday's race but made a strong finish to the tour.
The 32-year-old climbing expert beat Diggins by 31.4 seconds and passed Jonna Sundling (SWE), Frida Karlsson (SWE), Niskanen and Linn Svahn (SWE), who had been in front of her.
”There could not have been a better result than this, so I am extremely satisfied,” Weng said.
”There are many people who have a lot of respect for the hill. I don't really have that. I felt good, it's not the roughest experience I've had up the hill.”
Niskanen, 35, had claimed two victories in the Tour; in the 10km classic in Toblach, Italy, on New Year's Eve and in the 20km pursuit classic in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday.
On Sunday, she started in fifth place in the overall rankings, but got in front of the Swedish trio to make it three skiers over 30 on the podium.
It was the four-time Olympic medallist's second time on the Tour de Ski podium, having finished in second place after Karlsson one year ago.
Svahn won the Tour de Ski point standings on 71 points, Diggins finished second on 62 and Karlsson claimed the third place on 55 points.
