Cross-country skiing- Klaebo and Diggins lay down Olympic marker with Tour de Ski titles

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and Jessie Diggins clinched the overall Tour de Ski cross-country titles on Sunday, sending a clear warning shot ahead of the Olympic Games.

Norwegian Klaebo, now a fifth overall Tour de Ski title winner, further underlined his status as the man to beat as he targets another clean sweep at the Milano Cortina Winter Games next month after winning six golds in six events at last year’s World Championships.

"It’s important to recover well now, then the plan is to go to altitude again and prepare for the Olympics,” said Klaebo after 12th place in the men's 10km mass start free in Val di Fiemme, Italy, was enough for the overall win.

The overall podium was swept by Norwegians, with Mattis Stenshagen taking silver and Harald Oestberg Amundsen claiming bronze.

In the women’s event, Diggins of the United States secured a third overall title, adding to her victories in 2021 and 2023, and she looks set to bring her final season to a fitting close at the Olympics.

She finished more than two minutes clear at the top of the standings, ahead of second-placed Teresa Stadlober of Austria and Norway’s Heidi Weng in third.

"It's really great, it's nice to know that all of the training is working and that all of the work with the wax techs is also working and everyone's doing a great job," she said.

The February 6-22 Olympics will be co-hosted by Milan and the Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.