Sibling delight for Niskanens on second day of Tour de Ski

The Niskanen family received delayed Christmas presents on Wednesday (29 December) as Kerttu and Iivo claimed two gold medals at the Tour de Ski in Lenzerheaide, Switzerland – but these gifts weren’t made of chocolate.

Kerttu Niskanen started the day with a surprise late win in the women’s 10km classic, the second race of six in the Tour de Ski, which also doubles as the World Cup.

Sweden’s Ebba Andersson looked nailed on for the win for the majority of the race, however heavy snow conditions then lightened enough for Kerttu, a later starter, to come flying through to come in for the win with a time of 27:04.0. Andersson ended up in second, 18 seconds off the winning time.

Russian Federation’s Natalia Nepryaeva skied into third (27:34.5) with Niskanen’s compatriot Krista Parmakoski in fourth (27:38.0).

Frida Karlsson, Kerttu’s team-mate appeared to have skis that gripped the snow rather than smoothly glide across it, leaving her struggling to keep up, finishing in fifth place 44 seconds behind Kerttu.

Karlsson will be concerned over her form after a cracking start to the season in which she beat her biggest rival in the 10km distance, Therese Johaug. The Norwegian had won every distance World Cup opening race in Ruka, Finland over the past three years but this time, Karlsson prevailed. She would have been looking at the Tour de Ski as a way of cementing her Olympic medal-winning credentials ahead of the February Games while Johaug opted to stay away to focus on training ahead of Beijing.

Yesterday's sprint winner, America's Jess Diggins was more than one minute off the pace, finishing in 16th place with a time of 28:11.9.

Kerttu now overtakes Diggins as the yellow jersey-wearing overall tour leader heading into the third race, the 10km mass start, on Friday (31 December) in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Tour de Ski 10km results (women)

1 Kerttu Niskanen, Finland, 27:04.0
2 Ebba Andersson, Sweden, 27:22.2
3 Natalia Nepryaeva, Russian Federation, 27:34.5
4 Krista Parmakoski, Finland, 27:38.0
5 Frida Karlsson, Sweden, 27:48.6

Family affair

"It's an unbelievable day for our family," said Iivo Niskanen following the men's 15km classic race in which he replicated his sister's gold medal from a few hours earlier.

Admitting to feeling a little nervous prior to the race on hearing of his sibling's success, he decided to start at a steady pace but nerves got the better of him and he went off fast. Nevertheless, it worked out and Iivo won in a time of 1:21.4, a huge 19.3 seconds ahead of last year's overall Tour de Ski winner, Alexander Bolshunov.

The Russian Federation athlete had a day to forget at the sprint yesterday (28 December), finishing in 17th place but this second place finish, in a time of 35:11.0 will move him up the overall points standings table in the Tour de Ski, putting him in a better position to defend his title.

Norway claimed five places in the top 10 with Paal Golberg finishing third (35:16.9) and yesterday's sprint winner and current overall tour leader Johannes Klæbo in fourth (35:26.0). Britain's Andrew Musgrave finished 26th.

Three-time Olympic gold medallist, Dario Cologna, was cheered on in what was likely his last race on home snow with placard-waving spectators thanking him for his contribution to the sport.

The next race is the 15km mass start, on Friday (31 December) in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Tour de Ski 15km results (men)

1 Iivo Niskanen, Finland, 35:51.7
2 Alexander Bolshunov, Russian Federation, 35:11.0
3 Paal Golberg, Norway, 35:16.9
4 Johannes Klæbo, Norway, 35:26.0
5 Ivan Yakimushkin, Russian Federation, 35:26.3