Two U of U cross country skiers finish 5th and 7th in Tour de Ski

Two students from the University of Utah have finished in the top ten in Italy's fames Tour de Ski cross-country race. Photo: Marco Casanova Borca

ITALY – Sophia Laukli and Novie McCabe, both students at the University of Utah, saved their best for last, finishing fifth and seventh respectively to post career-best World Cup results in the final stage of the FIS Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy, Tuesday. Most of those top-ten spots in the annual multi-day event are historically spoken-for by European athletes.

“It felt pretty good,” McCabe said to US Ski and Snowboard’s Tom Horrocks after finishing the traditional final 3k climb up the Alpe Cermis in Cavalese. “It was tough, obviously, but I’m stoked about it.”

“It was quite a shock,” Laukli said to Horrocks of her fifth-place result. “After yesterday, I was extremely tired, so it was a bit of a 180. I was really looking forward to this race, though, and I knew that this was my style of course, so I was really excited.”

Indeed, the Alpe Cermis certainly fits the style for Laukli and McCabe, with pitches as steep as 28 percent. The course kicked off with a 2.5k loop before heading out onto the famed Marcialongo trail, which provided a brief respite for the athletes before the final climb. Jessie Diggins was fifth coming out of the Marcialongo, with Laukli and McCabe a bit further back in the field of 46 athletes who started the race.

“I was right with Sophia,” McCabe said to Horrocks as they began the climb, “and I knew that she was going to be in a good position, so I tried to follow her.”

“I tried to stay pretty chill and ski it tactfully well,” Laukli said to Horrocks, “and I was able to start the climb with a lot of energy. Like Novie said. We were pretty far back, up until the climb started, so we were well-rested and able to make some moves on the climb.”

Norway’s Heidi Weng won the race, with Sweden’s Ebba Andersson in second and Delphine Claudel of France in third. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva was fourth to secure the overall Tour de Ski victory. The overall win also moved her into atop the World Cup overall standings. Jessie Diggins was 15th Tuesday and finished eighth overall.