Ingvild Flugstad Østberg was one of the few athletes who made a very high pace right from the start and kept it until the end. For a long time she looked like the sure winner, but then she had to shiver, when Natalia Nepryaeva was always just faster during the split times. At the finish we saw a very restless Norwegian sitting in her chair and waiting for the Russian's arrival. Two kilometers from the finish, Nepryaeva was only 0.5 seconds ahead. With giving the last of her energies Natalia Nepryaeva crossed the line and Østberg clapped her hands over her head: 0.3 seconds in favor of the Russian on the clock, who celebrated her first World Cup victory and took the lead in the Tour de Ski. Sprint winner Stina Nilsson (SWE, Fischer skis and bindings) lost a lot of time today and will come back to her original plan to quit the Tour de Ski after three stages. "I can not believe it, I am now full of emotions, this is my first victory in the World Cup and I will now try to defend the blue jersey of the Tour leader", said the overjoyed winner. With Anastasia Sedova, who started late in the season because of heart problems, another young Russian made it onto the podium after catching up in the second half of the race, just ten seconds behind in the end. Yulia Belorukova (RUS, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) completed the first-class Russian result in seventh place ahead of Nathalie von Siebenthal (SUI, Fischer skis, bindings and boots). Katharina Hennig (GER, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) surprised in tenth place just ahead of Teresa Stadlober (AUT, Fischer skis, bindings and boots).
Sergey Ustiugov is back! After the Russian did not ski well in Davos and yesterday's sprint after motivational problems and later the fracture of his right thumb and started late into the season , he came back surprisingly strong in the 15-kilometer race. In all intermediate times, he set the best times or was just behind the fast-starting Calle Halfvarsson (SWE) or Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) and is in the Tour de Ski standings just behind Alexander Bolshunov. Andrey Melnichenko (RUS, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) completed the great Russian result in fourth place. Didrik Tønseth (NOR, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) finished fifth just behind Melnichenko. Denis Spitsov (RUS, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) came in seventh, with Florian Notz (GER, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) in ninth place it's the next surprise for the next German team ahead of big names like Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR, Fischer Ski, Bindungen and boots), Dario Cologna (SUI, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR, Fischer skis, bindings and boots) in positions 10-12.
