What is the Tour de Ski?
Many people would describe it as a miniature Tour de France except on skis. However, it is much different from a cycling grand tour. First the event takes place over about 10 days and has around 8 stages, however the stages and dates change each year, but the tour starts between Christmas and New Year’s each year. The tour is a stage world cup event meaning each day a separate event for world cup ranking while the overall results at the end of the tour count for world cup points also. The times from each day are combined minus any bonus time earned and the overall winner is the one with the lowest total time.
Schedule
| Date | Venue | Event |
|---|---|---|
| December 28 | Lenzerheide, SUI | Sprint Free |
| December 29 | Lenzerheide, SUI | Classic Individual Start |
| December 31 | Oberstdorf, GER | Mass Start Free |
| January 1 | Oberstdorf, GER | Sprint Classic |
| January 3 | Val di Fiemme, ITA | Mass Start Classic |
| January 4 | Val di Fiemme, ITA | Hill Climb |
Stages
There are several distinct types of stages in the Tour de Ski.
Mass Starts where everyone starts together are usually the most usual format with the men racing between 10-15km while the women do 5-10km. Most years there are time bonus points on the course with the first skiers getting to these points getting time taken off their overall time at the end of the day. They are often time bonuses for winning a stage that has been as much as 30 seconds for some stages.
Interval start stages put athletes up against the clock in a time trial format. One athlete will start every 15 or 30 seconds and race the course solo. Some years there have been time bonus seconds for the top finishers and in other years there are not. In some editions of the Tour de Ski there has been a short interval start stage or prologue at the beginning of the tour. Usually, the distances are like the mast start events.
Sprint stages usually between 1-2km for both the men and women are in two parts. First an individual time trial and then the top 30 move on to head-to-head competition in heats of six for quarter finals, semifinals, and then the finals. Up to a 60 second time bonus is awarded to the winner.
The final hill climb held in Val di Fiemme where skiers go up the alpine ski slopes on Alpe Cermis determines the winner of the Tour de Ski. This stage is a pursuit start where the overall leader goes first, and the other competitors start after the based on how far behind, they are in the overall standing. For example, if you were 30 seconds behind the leader you would start 30 seconds after the leader on the final stage. Therefor the first skier to cross the line during the final hill climb is the overall winner.
Other important aspects
There is an overall leader’s jersey which has changed colors over the years but is currently yellow. Often at that start of the Tour de Ski the overall leader is a skier who is a sprint specialist, however as the event progresses the distance specialists tend to dominate the overall. Sprint stages later in the tour when skiers are tired often see non-sprint specialists and all-round skiers fighting for the stage wins. The final hill climb is exceedingly difficult, and it comes after several long days of racing so even a gap of 30 seconds is not insurmountable.
Look for the Russian, French and Norwegian men to be strong and the Russian, US, Swedish and Norwegian woman to take most of the top spots. With Covid-19 and the Olympics this winter some top skiers may skip the tour and or withdraw early in preparation for Winter Games.
