American cross-country skiing entered a new chapter on Wednesday, achieving an unprecedented milestone at the World Cup level. For the first time, both a male and a female skier from the United States won their respective World Cup races on the same day.
A Landmark Day in Toblach
The historic double was secured at the third stage of the prestigious Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy. Both victories came in a newly introduced 5km heat mass start free event, a format that prioritises raw speed, clever pacing, and collective team tactics over simple head-to-head racing.
Gus Schumacher ignited the American celebration with a commanding performance in the men's race. The 25-year-old attacked from the start in a race structure that split competitors into staggered heats, with final positions decided by time. Schumacher powered across the line in 9:35.4, clinching only the second World Cup win of his career by a razor-thin margin of two-tenths of a second ahead of Austria's Benjamin Moser. Norway's Lars Heggen took third place.
Diggins Dominates in Final Season
Later in the day, the USA's trailblazing star Jessie Diggins mirrored the feat in the women's competition. In what is set to be her final season, Diggins captured her 31st career World Cup victory. The race evolved into a strategic test of shared tempo and efficiency, with athletes taking turns at the front to maintain high speed, rather than a conventional mass start scramble.
Diggins finished decisively ahead of Sweden's Emma Ribom and Moa Ilar, who completed the podium. This triumph further solidified her position at the summit of both the overall World Cup and Tour de Ski standings.
Symbolic Shift for US Skiing
Beyond the individual accolades, the day held profound symbolic importance for the US cross-country team, signalling its rising power in a sport long dominated by European nations. The team's depth was further highlighted by Julia Kern's 10th-place finish, her first top-ten result of the season. Schumacher's win also underscored a growing and credible American threat on the men's circuit, an area where European dominance has been particularly strong.
Schumacher's victory propelled him to sixth place in the overall Tour de Ski rankings, marking a significant breakthrough in a discipline seldom featured on the World Cup tour in recent years.
The Tour de Ski continues on Thursday with 20km pursuit races, where skiers will start based on their accumulated time deficits, setting the stage for a dramatic chase for points as the series progresses into the new year.
