Cross-country skiing
Sensation! Vermeulen second overall in Tour de Ski
Mika Vermeulen took second place on Sunday in the final 10 km mass start race on the Alpe Cermis at the Tour de Ski and also secured an excellent second place in the overall standings behind the Norwegian Johannes Hösflot Kläbo.
It was the 25-year-old Styrian's greatest success to date and also the first overall podium finish for Austria's cross-country skiing sport at the Tour de Ski.
Simen Hegstad Krüger (NOR) took the day's victory 7.8 seconds ahead of Vermeulen. "Second in the Tour de Ski is a childhood dream come true," commented Vermeulen happily. "To be on the podium with the best cross-country skiers in the world is indescribable. I flirted with it a bit, but I didn't really expect it," he admitted.
Not just a braggart
Over the course of the Tour de Ski, Vermeulen has proven that there is substance behind his big slogans and the huge amount of self-confidence he exudes.
With fifth place in the penultimate race on Saturday, he moved up to third place in the overall standings and even improved on this result with a strong performance in what is probably the most difficult climb of the Cross-Country World Cup.
In the women's race that followed, things didn't go quite as well as hoped for Teresa Stadlober, who had set her best World Cup result to date with second place on Saturday. Sixth overall on Saturday, she was unable to make any further progress on the seventh stage of the final day and finished eighth.
Stadlober also satisfied
For Stadlober, however, it was still a great success. "It was a tough day for me. I struggled a lot, especially at the start, but I got better and better on the climb," she analyzed. It was one of her better races on the Alpe Cermis. "Seventh place in the overall standings is amazing for me. Last year I wasn't in the top ten, and this year I was able to improve a lot." Saturday was "awesome" for her and now Vermeulen's performance: "This is just extremely cool and important for Austrian cross-country skiing."
The victory went to Therese Johaug, who returned this year after a two-year break. The Norwegian top star of women's cross-country skiing celebrated her fourth overall victory at the Tour de Ski after 2014, 2016 and 2020. She won the day's race ahead of her compatriots Astrid Oeyre Slind and Heidi Weng. And since the overall victory also counts as a World Cup win, she managed to kill two birds with one stone. Austria's second athlete, Katharina Brudermann, finished in 20th place and 30th overall.
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