Andorran Skiers del Río and Esteve Kick Off Tour de Ski with Solid Sprint Starts

Andorran cross-country skiers Gina del Río and Irineu Esteve opened the Tour de Ski on Sunday with a freestyle sprint in Toblach (Dobbiaco), Italy. Del Río delivered Andorra's top performance, placing 31st in the 1.4km qualification round at 2:55.64—just 0.22 seconds behind France's Margot Tirloy for the 30th and final finals spot. Sweden's Johanna Hagström recorded the fastest women's qualifying time. Esteve, competing in a weaker discipline, finished 116th out of 121 at 2:48.98, 16.47 seconds off the finals cutoff and 21.83 seconds behind Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo.

Del Río, the under-23 World Cup leader on 195 points, carried momentum from career-best results in Davos: 13th in the freestyle sprint on a demanding uphill-downhill course and 12th in the 10km freestyle interval-start race, where she led provisionally before 11 rivals overtook her. Those marked improvements over her prior season highs of 14th in Ruka's sprint and 27th in Trondheim's distance event. She attributed her form to altitude training in Andorra and well-prepared skis, adding that Davos' elevation matched her strengths better than sea-level Scandinavian races. Ahead of the Tour—a childhood favorite she watched with family—del Río expressed excitement for its explosive style, similar to Davos, and noted positive pre-event training at La Rabassa alongside top international skiers. FAE cross-country director Xabier del Val praised her post-Davos confidence, targeting proximity to the top 30 without risks in this Olympic year. She plans the first three stages, which suit her profile, and described her sprint sensations as mixed but competitive.

Esteve entered at about 50% fitness after a disrupted buildup that sidelined him from Davos. His season so far: 41st in Ruka's 10km classic, 63rd in the 20km freestyle mass start, 45th in Trondheim's skiathlon, and 39th in the 10km freestyle. With a strong Tour pedigree—including fifth on last year's Alpe Cermis climb—he anticipates gradual gains: "We'll suffer in sprints but aim to improve and reach Val di Fiemme in better shape," targeting 70-75% fitness. Del Val views the event as near-preparation for the Olympics, noting Esteve's peak arrived post-Tour last year.

The shortened six-stage Tour continues in Toblach with 10km classic individual races on Monday (men at 11:45 a.m., women at 2:45 p.m.), a new 5km freestyle heat race on Wednesday (men at 11:30 a.m., women at 2:30 p.m.), and 20km classic pursuit on Thursday. It then moves to Val di Fiemme for a classic sprint on Saturday and the 10km freestyle mass-start Alpe Cermis climb on Sunday (men at 11:30 a.m., women at 3:30 p.m.). Del Río aims to defend her U23 lead; Esteve seeks rising form ahead of the Games.