The Norwegian had 1 minute 23 seconds to spare before the climb, and even though compatriot and stage winner Mattis Stenshagen took much of the lead, Klæbo's overall victory was never threatened.
Klæbo started the stage in twelfth place, 59 seconds behind Stenshagen, and was thus able to claim his fifth Tour de Ski victory. No skier has managed that before.
“Worse today”
Edvin Anger was sixth going into the final stage, but was unable to challenge for a podium finish overall. Anger finished 36th on the stage (+2:02) and twelfth overall.
The best Swede of the day was William Poromaa with a 17th place (+1:24). Olympic qualifier Poromaa fell badly during the stage on New Year's Day. He has been experiencing severe rib pain.
"It was worse today. It hurt quite a bit," says the 25-year-old, who finished in 23rd place overall.
However, the national team doctors have said that the injury will not be worsened by continued competition.
"Just being able to finish today didn't feel like a given. Now I'm in pain, of course," he says.
Before the fall on New Year's Day, he had begun to feel like himself again.
"We have to hope that this (injury) goes away and that it goes away as quickly as possible. Because it feels like the body is starting to recover."
The final stage of the Tour de Ski is a 10-kilometer mass start, with the final 2.8 kilometers consisting of a climb up Alpe Cermis. In total, around 420 meters of elevation gain are covered.
Self-inflicted suffering
"Every year you forget how it feels, but it's completely idiotic. It's idiotic to expose yourself to something like this," says William Poromaa and continues:
"You often question yourself why you're doing this shit."
The great talent Alvar Myhlback made his Tour de Ski debut. He finished in 40th place overall after finishing 44th on the final stage up the hill.
"It was fun. Suffering is good when you go up here," says the 19-year-old, who has also been selected for the Olympics.
The Olympic skiing competitions will be held in Val di Fiemme. The first race for the men is the skiathlon on February 8th.
Men's skiers who have won the Tour de Ski more than once:
5 wins: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norway
4: Dario Cologna, Switzerland.
2: Lukas Bauer, Czech Republic; Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Norway; Aleksandr Bolsjunov, Russia.
Final standings in the Tour de Ski, men:
- Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norway; 2) Mattis Stenshagen, Norway, +30.1 seconds; 3) Harald Østberg Amundsen, Norway, +1:08.2.
Swedish rankings: 12) Edvin Anger +2:58.1, 19) Truls Gisselman +3:55.4, 23) William Poromaa +4:08.3, 29) Gustaf Berglund +5:26.2, 32) Eric Rosjö +5:40.5, 35) Johan Ekberg +5:51.9, 40) Alvar Myhlback +6:48.6, 51) Jonas Eriksson +8:34.1, 53) Anton Grahn +8:50.4.
