Stenshagen beats Klaebo to Toblach 10K to show Norway power

Mattis Stenshagen became the second Norwegian this season to claim his first FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup victory as the selection sub-plot for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games becomes increasingly intriguing.

The 29-year-old, who has showed signs of good form with a third place in Davos and fourth in Trondheim before Christmas, followed Einar Hedegart onto the top step of the podium after winning the 10km Interval Start Classic in Toblach, Italy on Monday.

This came after 20-year-old Lars Heggen made claimed his first World Cup podium in Saturday’s Sprint Freestyle. Oskar Vike, 21, has also enjoyed a breakthrough 2025, while veteran Emil Iversen claimed his first podium for nearly five years in Trondheim earlier this month.

Throw in a host of established stars including, of course, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and competition in the Norway team for Milano Cortina could be even more fierce than usual.

Stenshagen was fastest at every checkpoint from 1.7km onwards, conquering the Toblach course’s many undulations where others faltered.

This included Klaebo, who was the 64^th skier out of the starting gate, 31 positions behind his compatriot. This gave the great man a clear target to chase under clear blue skies. But for once Klaebo seemed to struggle a little on the big climbs and downhills, while Stenshagen’s skis seemed to be giving him the perfect balance of grip and glide on a track that had iced up overnight, when temperatures dropped to -10 degrees Celsius.

Stenshagen was 2.3 seconds faster than Klaebo at 1.7K, increasing his advantage to 5.9s at the halfway stage. That advantage had stabilised at 5.9s at the 6.7km mark, suggesting Klaebo was about to make his move. But Klaebo couldn’t find the extra gear that so often sets him apart from his competitions. Instead, the gap increased to 9.2s then 11s at 8K.

A late burst from Klaebo wasn’t enough and he eventually finished 8.9s to back claim a rare second place. Iversen was the only other athlete to threaten the top of the podium, but he too began to fade in the final third of the race. He finished 10.1s back to claim his second medal of the season and complete the second all-Norwegian podium in as many days.

Stenshagen said his first victory, and third individual World Cup podium, felt “unreal”. “I’m so satisfied,” he added. “It was a really good race and finally I can climb on the top of the podium. It feels unbelievable. I’m in really good shape to climb even higher. I will try to do my best in every race.

“It means so much. I’ve worked a lot for many years to compete in the World Cup and now I am finally one of the best. It’s a big investment. I will enjoy the day and the rest of the season.”

Klaebo, despite admitting earlier this season that he didn’t like not being on top of the podium, preferred to focus on the positives. “It’s a good start to the Tour de Ski so looking forward to these next races,” he said. “I think it was a good race today and I felt pretty good.”

Iversen, meanwhile, has gone from considering retirement ahead of this season to the brink of competing in his third Olympics after claiming the 28^th individual podium of his career.

“This is the race I have been thinking about during this Tour de Ski,” he said. “’m not good in sprinting anymore; not good enough to fight for a good end result, but this Classic suits me. It’s good for the Olympics but there’s many good Norwegians so I can’t take anything for granted.”

The action continues in Toblach on Wednesday with a new event, the Men’s and Women’s 5km Heat Mass Start Freestyle.

For all the results from Toblach, click here