Tour de Ski will be season’s highlight

“Records are there to be broken,” Cologna says. “It’s ok … with Klaebo you have to expect he will beat a lot of records. The Tour de Ski is perfect for him: lots of sprints [two], pursuit races [two] and mass starts [two] where he is really strong. Let’s see, a lot can happen.”

“To be honest, at the moment it’s a little bit difficult because of the dominance of the Norwegian skiers on the men’s side. It would be good if there were more nations on the top, like there is with the ladies.

Indeed, while all six men’s winners this season have come from Norway, six winners from four different countries – Norway, Sweden, USA and, most recently, Germany – have topped the women’s podium. “It’s nice to have a German victory, it’s very important for our sport,” Cologna’s says of Victoria Carl’s 10km gold in Trondheim – her first in 11 years of World Cup racing.

“She was always strong but has taken a step up this winter. Victory is very important for a skier’s confidence. I’ve always said: you need to learn how to win. And when that first victory comes, you know how it feels, you know you can beat everyone – and that helps you and the whole team a lot.

“I think the women’s Tour de Ski is really open. The favourites are maybe Jessie Diggins (USA) and Ebba Anderson (SWE) as they’re maybe a little bit stronger in the final climb [the 10km in Val di Fiemme].

“It can be that that the athletes choose top skip some races to be in shape for the Tour de Ski but, in a year without the Olympic and World Championships, if anything skiers will be ready earlier. We’ve seen most of them there from the start – it’s important for the sport to have the best athletes at every race if possible.”