FIS TOUR DE SKI PREVIEW LADIES This will be the 12th edition of the Tour de Ski. The previous 11 have been won by six different athletes from four different countries. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) is on a record four Tour de Ski victories. Therese Johaug (NOR) and Virpi Kuitunen (FIN) both won on two occasions. Charlotte Kalla (SWE), Marit Bjørgen (NOR) and Heidi Weng (NOR) all triumphed once. Only Charlotte Kalla in 2007/08, Virpi Kuitunen in 2008/09 and Justyna Kowalczyk in 2011/12 failed to win the overall World Cup title in the same season. The last four editions of the Tour de Ski have all been won by Norwegian athletes: Johaug (2013/14, 2015/16), Bjørgen (2014/15) and Weng (2016/17). Last season's winner Heidi Weng could become the second athlete to record back-to-back Tour de Ski victories after Kowalczyk, who won four in a row between 2010 and 2013. Norway have recorded 16 overall top-three finishes in the Tour de Ski, at least 11 more than any other country (Finland 5). Norway have claimed at least one overall podium spot in each of the last seven editions of the Tour de Ski. In 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16, they even swept the podium.
Stefanie Boḧler (GER) is the only athlete to have appeared in all previous 11 editions of the Tour de Ski. Boḧler's best result came in 2014/15, when she finished in 11th place in the overall standings. Only Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (73) has appeared in more Tour de Ski stages than Boḧler (70). Kowalczyk is on 68 starts. Johaug follows with 67. Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (NOR) is the only athlete to have recorded at least one top-three stage finish in each of the last five editions of the Tour de Ski. Only Kowalczyk (4), Bjørgen (4) and Johaug (7) have won at least one stage in more different Tour de Ski editions than Østberg (3). Kowalczyk has won a record 14 stages in history of the Tour de Ski. Johaug and Bjørgen follow with 11 stage wins each. Bjørgen holds the record for most stage wins in a single edition of the Tour de Ski, as she won five in 2014/15. Norway have claimed 110 of the 247 podium spots in Tour de Ski stages (45%), at least 77 more than any other country (Finland 33). Norway is the only country to have recorded at least one top-three stage finish in all previous 11 editions of the Tour de Ski. Norway's tally of 31 stage wins is an all-time high in Tour de Ski history. Poland are next with 14 stage wins in the competition. Norway have won at least one stage in 10 of the previous 11 editions of the Tour de Ski, only missing out on a stage win in 2007/08.
Last season, Stina Nilsson (SWE) failed to win the overall Tour de Ski (3rd) despite winning four stages. Only Bjørgen in 2011/12 (4) also recorded (at least) four stage wins in a non-winning campaign. Kowalczyk was the last non-norwegian athlete to record back-toback Tour victories, as she won the 2008/09 World Cup Final and the 2009/10 Tour de Ski. MEN This will be the 12th edition of the Tour de Ski. The previous 11 have seen seven different winners. Dario Cologna (SUI) has claimed a record three overall wins (2009, 2011, 2012). Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR) and Lukás Bauer (CZE) are the only other athletes with multiple victories (2 each) Eight of the 11 winners of the 3-Days Tour went on to win the overall World Cup that season. Only Bauer in 2010, Legkov in 2013 and Ustiugov in 2017 failed to add the overall World Cup title to their Tour de Ski victory. All three finished in second place in the overall World Cup standings that season. Athletes from Norway have claimed at least one overall podium spot in nine of the previous 11 editions of the Tour de Ski, with 2012/13 and 2007/08 as the only exceptions. Last campaign, Ustiugov won the 2016/17 Tour de Ski to claim his first ever overall Tour victory (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada).
Ustiugov could become the second athlete to record back-to-back Tour de Ski wins after Cologna who triumphed in 2011 and 2012. Ustiugov (1st in 2016/17, 3rd in 2015/16) and Sundby (2nd in 2016/17, 1st in 2015/16) are the only athletes to have reached the Tour de Ski overall podium in each of the last two editions. Sundby won the 2015/16 Tour de Ski 3:15.7 ahead of runner-up Finn Ha gen Krogh (NOR), the biggest winning margin ever in the Tour de Ski. Devon Kershaw (CAN) and Jean Marc Gaillard (FRA) are the only two athletes to have appeared in all previous 11 editions of the Tour de Ski. Kershaw's best result came in 2012 when he just missed out on a podium spot, finishing in fourth place. Gaillard recorded his best result in 2010, when he finished in fifth position. Only Northug (75) has appeared in more Tour de Ski stages than Gaillard (73) and Kershaw (73). Last season, Ustiugov won five of the seven Tour de Ski stages (excl. overall), with a second place finish in the 15km classic (penultimate stage) and a 16th place in the 9km pursuit (last stage) as the only exceptions. Ustiugov's tally of five stage wins in 2016/17 is an all-time high for a single Tour de Ski edition. Sundby won four stages in 2015/16. Only Northug (13) has won more Tour de Ski stages than Sundby (6) and Ustiugov (5).
Ustiugov's five consecutive wins in the opening five stages of the 2016/17 Tour de Ski is the longest winning streak in history of the competition. Norway's next Tour de Ski stage win will be there 30th in the competition, an all-time high. Russia follow with 11 stage wins. Norway and Russia are the only countries to have recorded at least one top-three stage finish in all previous 11 editions of the Tour de Ski. Only Norway have won at least one stage in all previous 11 Tour de Ski editions. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR) has won the last two Tours, the 2016/17 World Cup Final and this season's 3-Days Tour. Norwegian athletes have won 12 of the last 13 Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada). Only Ustiugov avoided Norwegian success in this span (2013-2017), as he won last season's Tour de Ski. Maurice Manificat (FRA) leads the distance World Cup and is ranked second in the overall behind Klæbo. France's best overall result in the Tour de Ski is a fourth-place finish by Manificat last year. Manificat has won one Tour de Ski stage. He was the fastest in the pursuit in the last stage of last year. No Frenchman has won multiple Tour de Ski stages. No athlete has ever won the first stage of the Tour de Ski, after being the fastest in the final pursuit the year before.
Alex Harvey (CAN) finished in seventh place in last season's Tour de Ski and could become the first athlete from Canada to claim a podium spot in the competition. Harvey, who claimed a second-place finish in the 2016/17 World Cup Final and finished in fourth place in this season's 3-Days Tour, could become the first ever non-european Tour winner.