Nilsson skis to her strength and wins on the home stretch
Stina Nilsson (SWE) began the stage 4 Pursuit with a slim lead over the Norwegian duo of Heidi Weng and Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg and they quickly became a group but in the end it was Nilsson back in the lead and still in the Tour leaders bib.
Despite some in race discussion about who should take the lead the trio still increased their lead over the rest of the field and all three recorded the top 3 times on the day.
Krista Parmakoski of Finland fought hard to close the gap to the leading three but was unable to and skied the entire race on her own.
Same for the USA’s Jessie Diggins who remains in 5th despite recording only the 18th fastest time on the day.
Parmakoski was able to ski the 4th fastest time of the day but did lose some time in the overall.
With bonus seconds available in the finish Weng lost just over 2 seconds to Nilsson in the overall and is still second sitting +6.7 backs.
Oestberg managed to get a little bit of time back in the overall and is +11.8 second behind heading into stage 5 in Toblach, Italy.
Diggins lost almost over minute on today's stage in the standings but still sits safely in 5th place with tomorrow's rest day as the Tour moves to Italy.
ATHLETE QUOTES
Stina Nilsson (SWE):
My tactic was not to be in the front. I wanted to be in a good position before the last downhill. I had great skis. It is amazing to win again here in Oberstdorf.
Heidi Weng (NOR):
It was very tough, there was some new snow in the tracks. I knew Stina would be fast in the last meters. Ingvild did an amazing job today. She was in the front most of the time.
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (NOR):
It was a great race. I caught Heidi quite soon and I had to do a lot of work myself. I felt strong today. I am really satisfied with 3rd place.