Klæbo starts new year with commanding pursuit victory at Tour de Ski

Cross country skiing superstar Johannes Høsflot Klæbo started the new year with a commanding start-to-finish victory in the 20-kilometre pursuit on the fourth stage of the Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy on Thursday.

The defending champion bounced back after a disappointing performance in the 5km heat mass start the day before, when he was only 12th.

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The Norwegian started with a 45-second advantage and only increased it from there, finishing the race in 46 minutes 01.7 seconds and beating team-mate Mattis Stenshagen by 51.1 seconds. Edvin Anger of Sweden was third.

Klæbo extended his lead in the overall standings and with two stages left, he's the overwhelming favourite to take a second consecutive title.

This season's Tour de Ski has only six stages instead of the usual eight to ease the workload for the athletes ahead of the Winter Olympics in Italy, which start on February 6.

The first four stages were in Toblach, while the remaining two are Saturday and Sunday in Val di Fiemme, a sprint and a 10km mass start with the gruelling Alpe Cermis final climb.