Iversen back at the top with ‘high expectations’ for Tour de Ski

Emil Iversen is back. The 34-year-old Norwegian had only made six Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup starts in the past two seasons when he started his first event this winter – and made it straight onto the podium.

In the Men's 20km Skiathlon Classic/Free in Trondheim, Norway, Iversen was less than a second from the victory as he finished in third place behind winner Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and runner-up Harald Oestberg Amundsen to bag his first individual World Cup podium in almost five years.

"It feels really good. I've worked hard this year to get myself back to the top," said Iversen, whose last World Cup podium was a Skiathlon victory in Lahti, Finland, in January 2021.

After celebrating the sensational third place as if it had been an Olympic gold medal, an emotional Iversen spent more than an hour giving interviews. He talked about the tough years since his 50km Mass Start world title in 2021, attributing them to "adversity, illness and bad luck". 

One day after bagging his 27th World Cup podium, Iversen made another strong performance in Trondheim's 10km Interval Start Free, finishing fourth only 1.3 seconds from a podium spot. In the same event in Davos, Switzerland, one week later, Iversen got the seventh best time, making it three top-10 finishes in as many races this winter.

"The results have been absolutely fantastic – better than expected," said Iversen, who also has two World Championships Relay titles and a Team Sprint gold to his name.

"But at the same time, I had a dream that it could be possible. I've felt throughout the autumn that my form has been very good, so in that sense it's not that shocking either.

Iversen credits his success to his own team and to his collaboration with Overall World Cup leader Klaebo, his training partner, with whom he went to the United States for an altitude camp this summer.

"It's thanks to my phenomenal Team Ivers and everyone who helps me there," said Iversen.

"Also, thanks to the cooperation with Team Klaebo and the altitude regime we've been following."

Next up on the World Cup circuit is Tour de Ski; six race days across eight days between 28 December and 4 January, ending with the Final Climb – a 10km Mass Start Free that ends with a gruesome section up an Alpine slope.

"I have high expectations," Iversen said.

"But of course, with the Tour now being so short and with two Sprints, it's difficult to really fight at the very top, I think. There hasn't been much Sprint training in recent years."

He hopes to take part in all events, in Italian Toblach, 28 December to 1 January, and Val di Fiemme, 3 to 4 January.

"The plan is to race everything and make it to the top of the Alpine hill. It's been a long time since last time," Iversen said.

His best memory from the Tour came in Oberstdorf, Germany, on 5 January 2016.

"I claimed my first World Cup victory in the Classic Sprint in Oberstdorf, with many big names in the final," said Iversen, who had made his World Cup debut in December 2013.

He beat Russian runner-up Sergey Ustiugov by more than a second as Kazakhstan's Alexey Poltoranin finished in third place. The star-studded final also included compatriot Martin Johnsrud Sundby, on his way to his second Overall Tour de Ski triumph, and Petter Northug (NOR), who had won the Tour the year before.

Iversen's worst memory then?

"It is probably the first time up the 'monster hill'," he said.

In the 20th edition of the Tour de Ski, a new race format will be featured in the Stage 3 in Toblach. Known as the Heat Mass Start, around 20-25 skiers per gender – decided by the general classification and with a maximum of three athletes per team – will compete over a 5km distance in separate heats. As soon as the first heat has finished, the second will start and so on.

The skier with the best cumulative time in all the heats will win. The athletes will be battling to win their own races with speed, tactics and strategy playing their parts as their times will go toward the Overall standings.

Iversen's training partner Klaebo comes to Toblach as the defending Tour de Ski champion. He has won the Tour four times – an accomplishment that sets him on par with Switzerland's Dario Cologna as the most Men's Tour winner – and could make history this winter. 

The defending Overall Crystal Globe winner, who produced a clean sweep of six gold medals in as many events at the Trondheim 2025 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships last spring, is one of the main men to beat in the Tour, this year too. Iversen, however, thinks that a Norwegian 20-year-old rising star could upset him.

"I think the biggest favorite is Lars Heggen," Iversen said, adding:

"Or possibly Johannes Klaebo. They're both strong sprinters and distance skiers."

Norwegian skiers have won the Tour four times in a row, Harald Oestmund Amundsen claiming the victory two years ago, and in the World Cup standings, Amundsen is in second place behind Klaebo as Norway make up seven of the 10 top spots.

Iversen, 11th in the Distance World Cup and 16th Overall, is racing for a spot in Norway's team at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, where the Cross-Country action will be decided in Val di Fiemme.

His best Tour de Ski result came in 2015/16 when he finished in 10th place. Having made it back to the World Cup podium, however, Iversen said he could "maybe" have a Tour top-three in him as well.

"It will probably depend on how the Sprints go," he said. "And no-one knows that."

Click here to follow FIS Cross-Country on Youtube, here for the schedule for Toblach, here for the schedule for Val di Fiemme and here for the Men's Overall Tour de Ski standings.