Pre-comp facts Östersund | FIS Ski Tour 2020

This will be the first edition of the Ski Tour, a stage event hosted in both Sweden and Norway.

In 2010/11, Marit Bjørgen won in inaugural edition of the 3-Days Tour, while Virpi Kuitunen won the first editions of both the Tour de Ski (2006/07) and the World Cup Final (2007/08). Therese Johaug won the Ski Tour Canada in 2015/16, the only previous edition of this stage event.

Earlier this World Cup season, Johaug already won the 3-Days Tour and the Tour de Ski. The only athlete to win more than two different Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) in a single season is Johaug herself in 2015/16 (3).

In total, Johaug has claimed eight overall titles in one of the Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada), only trailing all-time record holder Bjørgen (12).

Johaug has claimed 19 podium spots in one of the Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada), at least three more than any other athlete (Bjørgen 16).

Johaug has won six of the last seven Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) she appeared in, with the only exception in that run a second place in the 2018/19 World Cup Final behind overall winner Stina Nilsson.

Nilsson can become the seventh athlete to claim multiple Tour wins (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) and the second from Sweden after Charlotte Kalla (2).

Eighteen of the last 20 Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) were won by Norwegian athletes. In that run, only Nilsson (2018/19 World Cup Final) and Kalla (2017/18 3-Days Tour) avoided Norwegian success.

Natalia Nepryaeva, second in this season's Tour de Ski, is hoping to become the first ever athlete from Russia to win one of the Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada).

This will be the first edition of the Ski Tour, a stage event hosted in both Sweden and Norway.

In 2006/07, Tobias Angerer won in inaugural edition of the Tour de Ski. Vincent Vittoz won the first edition of the World Cup Final (2007/08) and Alexander Legkov became the first ever winner of the 3-Days Tour (2010/11). Martin Johnsrud Sundby triumphed in the Ski Tour Canada in 2015/16, the first and sole edition of this stage event.

Earlier this season, overall World Cup leader Alexander Bolshunov won the Tour de Ski ahead of Sergey Ustiugov (2nd) and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (3rd).

Bolshunov can become the fifth male athlete to win multiple Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) in a single World Cup season, after Dario Cologna (3, 2008/09 and 2011/12), Petter Northug (2, 2012/13), Sundby (3, 2013/14 and 2015/16) and Klæbo (2, 2018/19).

Bolshunov, who also won the 2017/18 World Cup Final, can become the first Russian athlete to win more than two Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada). He currently shares the record of two with Alexander Legkov, who won the 3-Days Tour in 2010/11 and the 2012/13 Tour de Ski.

Legkov (6) and Sergey Ustiugov (5) are the only athletes from Russia on more overall podium finishes in one of the Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) than Bolshunov (4).

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has won five career Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) and can join Northug (6) and Dario Cologna (6) in second place all-time. Only Sundby (8) has won more than six.

Klæbo has reached the overall podium in seven of the nine Tours he appeared in, with the only exceptions the 2017/18 World Cup Final (25th) and the 2018/19 World Cup Final (14th).

Klæbo has already won the Tour de Ski (2018/19), World Cup Final (2018/19) and 3-Days Tour (2019/20) and is hoping to become the second male skier to win four different Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) after Sundby.

Overall World Cup leader Therese Johaug has won 12 of the last 14 individual distance events in the World Cup. In that run, only Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen on 3 January (10km classic, Tour de Ski) and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg on 1 January (10km pursuit classic, Tour de Ski) managed to beat Johaug.

Johaug has won each of the last 10 individual World Cup distance events in the freestyle. On 6 January 2019, Østberg was the last winner other than Johaug when she won the 9km pursuit freestyle in Val di Fiemme (Tour de Ski).

Only all-time record holder Marit Bjørgen (62) has won more individual World Cup distance events among women than Johaug (58).

Johaug and Stina Nilsson are the only athletes to have won at least one stage in all four Tours ever held in the World Cup (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada).

Ingvild Flugstad Østberg is one of three women to have won an individual distance event this World Cup season, alongside Therese Johaug (11) and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (1). Østberg won the 10km pursuit (classic style) in Toblach on 1 January (Tour de Ski).

Østberg's last win in an individual World Cup distance event in the freestyle came on 6 January 2019, when she won the 9km pursuit in Val di Fiemme (Tour de Ski).

Østberg finished in 19th place in the most recent individual World Cup distance event in Falun on 9 February (10km free), her worst result in a distance race since a 20th-place finish in the 10km pursuit (classic style) in the 2015/16 Ski Tour Canada.

Only Johaug (30), Marit Bjørgen (30) and Justyna Kowalczyk (19) have won more Tour stages (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) than Østberg (12).

The last non-Norwegian woman to win an individual distance World Cup event was Stina Nilsson, when she won the 10km classic in Quebec on 23 March 2019 (World Cup Final).

Heidi Weng, third in the overall World Cup standings, has won seven individual distance World Cup events. Her last win came on 7 January 2018, when she won the 9km pursuit in the freestyle in Val di Fiemme (Tour de Ski).

Natalia Nepryaeva is hoping to claim her third World Cup win and her second in the freestyle. On 30 December 2018, she won the 10km free in Toblach (Tour de Ski), her first career World Cup win.

Charlotte Kalla won the most recent World Cup event in Östersund, the 10km free on 15 February 2015. Her last World Cup win came on 16 December 2017, when she won the 10km free in Toblach.

Alexander Bolshunov, leader in the overall World Cup standings, won each of the last four individual distance events in the World Cup, since a third place in the 10km freestyle in Val di Fiemme on 5 January (Tour de Ski).

The only two male athletes to have won five individual World Cup distance events in a row were Bjørn Dæhlie (November-December 1995) and Martin Johnsrud Sundby (December 2015-January 2016).

Bolshunov finished on the podium in 10 of the last 11 individual World Cup distance events, with the only exception in that run a seventh-place finish in the 15km freestyle in Davos on 15 December.

Since the start of the 2018/19 season, Bolshunov has claimed 10 World Cup victories in individual distance events, at least six more than any other male skier in that period. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo follows on four triumphs.

Among Russian athletes, only Sergey Ustiugov (17) has won more World Cup events (including Tour stages and overall Tour wins) than Bolshunov (14).

Four of his 14 World Cup wins were recorded in Sweden. In no other country he managed to claim more than two wins.

Norway have claimed 22 victories in 15km freestyle World Cup events, at least four more than any other country. Sweden follow on 18. Russia are third on nine wins.

All previous three World Cup events held in Östersund were won by Norwegian athletes: Bjørn Dæhlie in 1995 (30km freestyle) and Finn Hågen Krogh in 2015 (sprint classic style and 15km freestyle).

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, second in the overall World Cup standings**,** has won only individual World Cup event in the freestyle, the 15km pursuit in Oberstdorf on 3 January 2019 (Tour de Ski).

Only Petter Northug (18) has claimed more stage victories in Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, Ski Tour, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada) than Klæbo (14).

Sjur Røthe, second in the distance World Cup standings,has claimed five podium spots in individual World Cup distance events this season, but has yet to claim his first win.

Røthe finished on the podium in four of the last five individual World Cup distance events, with the only exception in that run a fourth place in the 15km pursuit classic style in Nové Mesto na Morave on 19 January.

Røthe's most recent recent triumph in the World Cup came on 6 January 2019, when he won the final stage in the 2018/19 Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme.

Martin Johnsrud Sundby has claimed a record eight overall Tour titles and is the only male athlete to have won all four other Tours (3-Days Tour, Tour de Ski, World Cup Final, Ski Tour Canada).

Iivo Niskanen, third in the distance World Cup standings, has claimed one World Cup victory this season, the 15km classic style in Ruka on 30 November 2019 (3-Days Tour).

Niskanen can become the second Finnish male athlete to win multiple Tour stages after Matti Heikkinen (3).

Sergey Ustiugov won both 15km freestyle events in this season's Tour the Ski, in Lenzerheide (28 December) and Toblach (31 December).

Only Petter Northug (18) and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (14) have won more Tour stages than Ustiugov (11). Dario Cologna and Martin Johnsrud Sundby are also on 11 stage triumphs.

Among Russian male athletes, only Alexander Bolshunov (11) has won more individual World Cup distance events than Ustiugov (9).

Maurice Manificat already holds the record for most World Cup wins (10) and podium places (29) among French male athletes in individual distance World Cup events.

Manificat's most recent World Cup victory in a distance event came in the 15km freestyle in Ulricehamn on 26 January 2019.

The last Swedish male skier to win an individual World Cup distance event on home snow was Marcus Hellner in Gällivare on 20 November 2010 (15km freestyle).

Alexander Bolshunov won the two most recent pursuit races in the World Cup (both classic style), in Toblach on 1 January (Tour de Ski) and Nové Mesto na Morave on 19 January.

Bolshunov is hoping to become the first ever male athlete to win more than two World Cup pursuit races in a single season.

Since the start of 2018, Bolshunov and retired Alex Harvey are the only skiers to have won multiple men's pursuit event in the World Cup.

Bolshunov could become the first Russian male athlete to win three World Cup pursuit races. He currently shares the record of two with Sergey Ustiugov andMaxim Vylegzhanin.

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has won two World Cup pursuit races, in Toblach on 17 December 2017 and Oberstdorf on 3 January 2019 (Tour de Ski).

Klæbo finished second behind Alexander Bolshunov in the most recent World Cup pursuit race, in Nové Mesto na Morave on 19 January.

Klæbo finished in 47th place in his only previous World Cup pursuit race in Sweden, in the 15km freestyle in Falun on 18 March 2018 (World Cup Final).

Dario Cologna and Martin Johnsrud Sundby have both won five World Cup pursuit races (classic and free), joint second most all-time among men along with Petter Northug. Only Bjørn Dæhlie (7) has won more than five pursuits.

Sundby (12) shares the record for most podium finishes in men's World Cup pursuit races with Northug (12).

Sergey Ustiugov has won two men's World Cup pursuit races (both freestyle), in Quebec on 5 March 2016 (Ski Tour Canada) and in Oberstdorf on 4 January 2017 (Tour de Ski). No Russian male skier (including as Soviet Union and CIS) has ever won three pursuit races in the World Cup.

Iivo Niskanen could become the third Finnish male athlete to win a World Cup pursuit race, after Jari Isometsä in Bormio on 19 March 2000 and Matti Heikkinen in Lillehammer on 4 December 2016 (3-Days Tour).

Niskanen's only podium finish in a men's World Cup pursuit race was a third place in Toblach in this season's Tour de Ski (1 January).

Maurice Manificat (4) is one short of joining Cologna, Sundby and Northug (all 5) in second place all-time for most World Cup pursuit victories.

Manificat's most recent pursuit triumph in the World Cup came in Ruka on 26 November 2017 (3-Days Tour).

Manificat and Cologna (both 9) could both claim their 10th top-three finish in World Cup pursuit races. Only Sundby and Northug (both 12) have already reached this landmark.

Therese Johaug has won four of the last five World Cup pursuit races she appeared in, with the only exception in that run a second-place finish in the 10km pursuit classic style in Toblach (Tour de Ski) on 1 January.

The last seven pursuit races in the World Cup have been won by either Therese Johaug (4) or Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (3).

Østberg has won five career World Cup pursuit races and can join Marit Bjørgen (6) and Justyna Kowalczyk (6) in second place all-time. Only Johaug (18) has won more than six pursuits.

Østberg has never reached the podium in a World Cup pursuit race on Swedish soil before. Her best result was an eighth-place finish in Falun (World Cup Final) on 16 March 2014.

Thirteen of the last 14 World Cup pursuit races have been won by Norwegian athletes, including each of the last seven. The only exception in that run was Jessica Diggins' win in the World Cup Final in Falun on 18 March 2018.

Diggins can become the 15th athlete and the first non-European to win multiple World Cup pursuit races.

Heidi Weng has claimed 21 podium finishes in World Cup pursuit races, second-most all-time among women behind only Therese Johaug (33).

Weng's last World Cup pursuit win came on 7 January 2018, when she won the 9km pursuit freestyle in Val di Fiemme (Tour de Ski).

Natalia Nepryaeva is hoping to become the fifth female athlete from Russia to win a World Cup pursuit race and the first since Julija Tchepalova in Bormio on 18 March 2000.