On Sunday, Liz Stephen finished fifth in the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Her result is the highest ever for an American in the multistage race.
鈥淭his is my favorite event of the year,鈥 Stephen, 27, . 鈥淚 made it my goal to finish in the top five.鈥
It was a hard-earned fifth. After the first three of seven stages, Stephen had in the overall rankings. Clawing her way back with a fifth-place finish in the sixth stage, she needed a fifth-place finish or better in the final stage to finish in the top five overall.
During the nine-kilometer race in stage seven, Stephen rolled into the final climb and began closing the substantial lead of past Tour de Ski champ Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland and Norway鈥檚 Ragnhild Haga. Stephen overcame the 37-second gap behind Kowalczyk, and then traded blows with Haga until Haga broke from her in a final surge. Stephen would settle for fifth, boosting her to fifth overall in the standings and a mere 12 seconds behind Haga.
鈥淚t made for, I would say, my best finishing fight ever, and she was stronger than me up the last little pitch at the end,鈥 Stephen told the USSA. 鈥淏ut what a fun day it was.鈥
鈥淲e are stoked with Liz鈥檚 career-best performance, and we will continue to come after the Norwegians with all we have,鈥 said women鈥檚 head coach Matt Whitcomb, according to the USSA.
Norwegian skiers, led by six-time Olympic gold medalist Marit Bjoergen, swept the podium with the first four overall places.