From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
We had to take a break after our three-week Olympic sprint, but we’re back to catch up on a couple of weeks of World Cup racing.
Devon and Nat take a quick run-through of events in Sweden, Finland and Norway. We’ll be back after the marathons at Holmenkollen.
Reach us at devon[at]fasterskier.com and nat[at]fasterskier.com.
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This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.
The Men’s 20 k Skiathlon gets underway in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
With fresh snow overnight and temperatures hovering just above freezing, it was the kind of conditions that keep ski technicians guessing and athletes second-guessing. A week removed from the Olympics in Italy, the World Cup resumed for the second day with a 20-kilometer Skiathlon on a course that rewards patience and punishes weakness.
And while viewers looked on, whether to witness something historic or something new, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won again.
Klaebo covered the 10 k classic and 10 k freestyle in 48:41.8, edging teammate Harald Oestberg Amundsen by 0.7 seconds and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget by 0.8 seconds in a Norwegian podium sweep. The victory extended one of the most remarkable streaks in modern cross-country skiing and tightened his grip on the overall standings and, maybe more importantly for the remaining season-long narrative, extended his lead in the FIS distance ranking for the Distance Crystal Globe.
The race was familiar and predictable, with Nyenget driving much of the pace, Amundsen staying close, and Klaebo remaining measured in the pack. When the decisive move came in the final sprint, Klaebo, once again, not only had the answer, but made it look easy.
“This was a tough one,” Klaebo graciously said on the FIS broadcast after the race. “I think Martin was very strong today. I think he was in the front almost for 20 k.”
Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) leads, Andreas Fjorden Ree (NOR), Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR), and the rest of the field at a frenzied pace at the beginning of the Men’s 20 k Skiathlon in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Classic Leg: Bonus points that created a breakaway
The men opened with three laps of the 3.4-kilometer red course, climbing the Mini Mördarbacken each time. Conditions sat just above freezing, with fresh snow complicating the classic wax call. Athletes chose between traditional kick wax and zero-skis, the latter relying on a texture sanded into a softer base material underfoot.
The pace was honest from the gun. At 5.4 kilometers, where bonus World Cup points were on offer, Nyenget and Klaebo pushed hard, with Klaebo claiming the maximum 15 bonus points, followed by Nyenget and Amundsen. That acceleration fractured the field.
A lead group of Norwegians formed with Nyenget, Amundsen, Klaebo, and Andreas Fjorden Ree. Arsi Ruuskanen of Finland and Savelii Korostelew, competing as a neutral athlete, also managed to maintain contact. Behind them, a gap had opened to a chase pack led by American Gus Schumacher.
By the end of the classic leg, the leaders had established a gap that would prove decisive.
Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) continued to set a fast pace at the front of the Men’s Skiathlon. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
The Exchange and the Mördarbacken
Transitions in a Skiathlon are rarely glamorous or decisive, but a skier can lose contact with the lead if they don’t stay calm. Amundsen executed a clean ski exchange and briefly looked poised to dictate terms once the field switched to the blue 5-kilometer skate loop.
That loop includes the full Mördarbacken, a long, layered climb that television struggles to do justice. The ascent, which parallels the ski jumping landing hill, builds in segments, steepening before easing slightly when it cuts across the slope, then rising again one last time. It is not just a memorable climb in name, but once you have skied it, you will never forget the ‘Murder Hill.’
Nyenget continued to press the pace up front. Klaebo, as he often does, sat tucked in, attentive and measured.
On the first lap of the skate course, the lead group remained six, with the four Norwegians, Ruuskanen, and Korostelew. By the second ascent of Mördarbacken, it was effectively a three-Norwegian affair with Korostelew, Ree, and Ruuskanen fading slightly and fighting to limit losses and eventually finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
Behind them, the chase pack raced for seventh.
Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR), Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), and Harald Oestberg Amundsen (NOR), (l-r) crest the second to last climb. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
The Finish
With less than a kilometer remaining, the three Norwegians — Klaebo, Amundsen, and Nyenget — remained locked together. Nyenget, who historically has the least sprint speed, had done the bulk of the visible work, setting the tempo on both classic and skate sections.
At the top of the final climb before descending into the stadium, the trio jockeyed for position, no one wanting to lead only to be overtaken by those in the draft. Nyenget took the lead, but was predictably passed by Klaebo on the far side of the stadium, and at the line, it unfolded as it so often does, Klaebo easing up to wave to the crowd with Amundsen outsprinting Nyenget behind him.
“It was very hard,” Klaebo said during his post-race interview with FIS on the broadcast. “But at the end, I managed to keep up with [Nyenget] and managed to do a good last sprint at the end.”
The margins were small. The pattern was not.
Klaebo now has 12 consecutive victories across World Cup and Olympic competition. The last race he entered without winning was the final climb of the Tour de Ski, where he managed his effort to secure the overall title rather than contest the stage.
“To be honest, I don’t think I have a goal anymore for this season,” he said. “I think the main goal is completed, and now I’m just going to enjoy the last races and see how it goes.”
Gus Schumacher (USA) seemed to do the majority of the work at the front of the chase pack. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Schumacher: Fast Skis, Hard Hills
Gus Schumacher finished seventh in 49:38.6, 56.8 seconds behind Klaebo and spent much of the day managing a gap that opened during the classic leg and never fully came back.
The decisive acceleration came when the Norwegians lifted the tempo in pursuit of bonus points. Schumacher felt it immediately.
“In the classic, when it got fast, my kick was not great, so it was hard to fight for anything,” he said. “I was kind of just getting up the hills, but the pace was fast the whole time.”
He believed the separation was coming regardless.
“I think that gap was going to open at some point, no matter what,” he said. “Just because of how they were skiing from the start, mostly Nyenget, I think.”
Schumacher was on zero skis for the classic portion.
“I was on zeros. I think most people were on zeros,” he said. “Some people looked good, and I don’t know, there’s some variation there for sure.”
On the flats, he felt competitive.
“The gliding sections were great for me. My skis were really fast,” he said. “But the hills were tough.”
After the exchange, Schumacher exited the stadium aggressively and led the chase group for stretches on the first lap of the skate course. The leaders, however, continued to gain time on the full ascent of Mördarbacken.
Asked to describe the climb, Schumacher was more measured than dramatic.
“Honestly, compared to a lot of the other climbs they do, I feel like it’s not horrible,” he said. “I enjoy it partly because it’s not insanely long and it’s got some steps to it.”
That does not mean it is easy.
“It definitely climbs pretty far and has some steep parts,” he said. “But as far as big climbs go, that’s one of my faves.”
What does it demand?
“Same as other climbs,” he said. “Just fitness, technique, poise… the whole deal.”
Kevin Bolger (USA) during the classic leg, on his way to 36th place on the day. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Bolger: Boxed In Early, Fighting Back Late
Kevin Bolger finished 36th in 51:12.8, but his race was shaped early.
“It’s always hard to feel the pace when you start mid to back of the field,” Bolger wrote in an email afterward. “I’ve always tried to just relax, let the stringing out happen, and take the gaps where they form and make some jumps.”
He later learned from Gus Schumacher that the leaders had opened aggressively from the gun.
“I heard they started quite hard,” Bolger said. “So I think it was just a hot pace from the start and things just naturally spread out.”
For Bolger, the defining moment came within the first lap of the classic leg.
“Unfortunately, I got stuck behind Andrew Musgrave and went from mid pack to last after the first lap,” he said. “So it was a lot of work to catch back up after that.”
In a Skiathlon, that kind of early compression can cost dearly. Once the field stretches, passing becomes energy-intensive, and the leaders ease the pace.
The waxing decision, at least, felt clear.
“Waking up and seeing the fresh snow and the temperature around zero, it was clear it was going to be zeros,” Bolger said. “But you never know what the techs are mixing up in the truck. As you run out to the start, you look around to see what other people have under their skis.”
Bolger chose zero skis and was confident in the call.
“I went with zeros, and I was very happy with that decision,” he said. “Tim Baucom and I did some good testing and landed on zeros because they were running the best for me, and I was super happy with that.”
By the time the race shifted to the skate leg, the front group was already out of reach. Still, Bolger felt he had something left.
“I was really happy with my classic leg,” he said. “Even with getting stuck early and having to work to catch back up, finishing that classic leg with the energy I had, I knew I could put together a good skate.”
The full Mördarbacken climb on the blue loop remained the critical point.
“I think everyone knows when that massive climb is in the mix, that’s a very critical part of the course and a tipping point for a lot of people,” Bolger said. “If I can get up that hill with the group, I’m in. Once there’s separation, the chances of that coming back are small.”
He described the climb bluntly.
“She starts pretty gradually, and you feel confident at the bottom,” he wrote. “But she turns boys into men real quick, or men into boys quick at the top.”
In soft conditions, with lactate building, the final pitch can expose anyone.
“It’s hard to keep the legs moving when the lactate’s flowing,” he said. “It’s really hard to describe it, but that’s the best way to say it.”
JC Schoonmaker (USA) finding joy in the distance racing as he builds fitness and experience with the longer races. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Schoonmaker: Finding Value in the Distance
JC Schoonmaker finished 58th in 52:40.4, but the placement did not tell the full story of his day.
“The longer distance was pretty tough, but also fun to do that kind of race again,” Schoonmaker wrote afterward. “Even though it was a tough day and not my best race, I find a lot more enjoyment in a 20 k like that, where I’m 60th or whatever, than a sprint qualifier where I’m 35th. Cool to push yourself and ski in a pack.”
Falun’s Skiathlon rewards positioning and sustained pace more than sharp accelerations. For Schoonmaker, the takeaway was direct.
“Today shows me that I probably need to have a bit more pace to be competitive in these longer races,” he said. “Just overall need to be fitter and stronger than I am right now.”
He felt competitive through the classic leg, especially in tricky waxing conditions hovering around freezing.
“The conditions were a bit tricky for sure,” he said. “Whenever zeroes are in the mix as well as wax, it can be a little stressful.”
Schoonmaker chose kick wax rather than zero skis, a minority decision in the field.
“I ended up going on wax, and I think I was probably one of the only guys in the field to do that, so I was a bit nervous at the start,” he said. “But they worked great for me, and I think I made the right call.”
The transition to skate proved costly.
“I felt more competitive in the classic leg, had a bit of a blow up as soon as we switched to skating, and found my flow after a bit, but just lost too much time right after the transition there,” he said.
Then came the full Mördarbacken climb, twice.
“The Mördarbacken is a tough one, I think mostly because it’s just so long,” Schoonmaker said. “It has a lot of grade fluctuations, which I think is cool in a hill and a bit of a grind, but I like the way it skis.”
Other American Finishers:
Hunter Wonders – 47th place
Zanden McMullen – 61st place
Antoine Cyr (CAN) on his way to a top ten. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Canada: Cyr Inside the Top Ten
Antoine Cyr led the Canadian contingent, finishing 10th. It was a controlled race from Cyr, who held position through the classic leg and limited losses on the climbs during the skate.
Other Canadian Finishers:
Olivier Leveille – 53rd place
Remi Drolet – 54th place
Max Hollmann – 55th place
Sasha Masson – 66th place
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) charges for the win once again at the end of the Men’s Skiathlon in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
The Larger Arc
Falun is more than just another stop as it will host the 2027 World Championships. It is also a venue that rewards discipline. The gradual terrain away from the stadium invites packs, and the big climbs around the ski jumping hill expose any fitness weaknesses.
For Klaebo, it was another example of restraint followed by precision.
He leads the overall standings. He leads the sprint standings. The distance standings remain mathematically contested, but days like this narrow the space for drama as we move towards the final races.
After sweeping the Olympics, one might have expected a pause, yet there has not been one.
In Falun, the snow was fresh, the wax calls uncertain, and the climbs unforgiving. The result, however, was familiar.
And with three weeks remaining before the World Cup finale in Lake Placid, what now remains is not a question of whether Klaebo has delivered a historic season, but how complete it might become.
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Norwegians Harald Oestberg Amundsen, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (l-r) share the Men’s 20 k Skiathlon podium in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) continues his march on a most historic season in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Six days after the Olympic flame dimmed in Italy, the World Cup caravan reassembled in Falun, Sweden, at the Lugnet cross-country ski center. The Mördarbacken — the famed “murder hill” — still looms over the stadium, waiting to torture the athletes tomorrow. The snow was fast, and the sport’s most dominant man arrived with something bordering on the unthinkable within reach.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo had already swept the Olympic program: six races, six gold medals. He had already conquered the Tour de Ski. He leads the sprint standings. He leads the distance standings. He leads the overall.
In Falun’s Freestyle Sprint, he resumed his campaign as if nothing had interrupted it.
And to no one’s surprise, Klaebo won again.
The victory — tactical, controlled, clinical — pushed his streak forward and kept alive the possibility of something the sport has never seen: a season in which one athlete claims the Olympic sweep, the Tour de Ski title, and all three FIS World Cup Crystal Globes.
“So interesting watching Klaebo,” FasterSkier’s John Teaford observed. “In the semi, he had Chanavat in front, so Klaebo went wide to force him into the lead. In the final, Chanavat was already there, so Klaebo took the inside to shut down Heggen. He’s racing, everyone else is just reacting.”
On a course where lane choice and downhill drafting often matter more than raw power, Klaebo once again skied as if he had solved the puzzle in advance.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) gets his quarterfinal started. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
The Course That Punishes Hesitation
Lugnet’s sprint track is deceptively compact — Klaebo won the qualification in 2:33.9 — but it rewards patience and punishes impatience. The downhill into the stadium is long enough to generate devastating draft effects; even if a skier has what seems like a wide enough margin out front, they often get swallowed up.
Lars Heggen, left off Norway’s Olympic team in favor of Oskar Opstad Vike, skied with visible urgency all afternoon. He had qualified 26th but surged through the rounds, eventually finishing second behind Klaebo in the final. Vike, the Olympic bronze medalist in the Classic Sprint, failed to advance to the finals.
In a Norwegian program that might be the deepest in skiing history, the margins remain ruthless, and the storyline between Vike and Heggen will continue throughout the rest of the season.
Gus Schumacher (USA) during qualification. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Schumacher: Six Olympic Races, Then a Movie Theater
If Klaebo’s season has been relentless, Gus Schumacher’s has seen both uncertainty and excellence. Schumacher was the only Olympic racer besides Klaebo to start all six events in Italy, culminating in the 50-kilometer classic last weekend.
His recovery plan for Falun?
“I was just chilling,” Schumacher said afterward. “I didn’t ski Sunday or Monday. Tuesday, I went skiing for a little bit, but I wasn’t too stressed about the training. The biggest thing was just not doing too much.”
He went to a movie theater on Tuesday night.
“Just kind of like doing sort of normal life things,” he said. “Helped with recovery for me.”
There was no urgency in his tone, no sense of chasing something lost. Instead, he described an emotional decompression that many Olympians quietly experience.
“All week it’s been a little low,” he admitted. “Today was just nice to go out and race.”
Schumacher advanced cleanly from his quarterfinal, but the semifinal unfolded differently. His start, he acknowledged, hasn’t been historically a strength.
“My start has never been that fast,” he said. “So for me to get into a top-four spot early on is hard. I was kind of relying on gaps to open up.”
But they didn’t.
“The pace was kind of too high, or it was too wide or both,” he said. “I really should have just pulled up a little bit, embrace sixth until the finish, and then gone fast there.”
He missed a lucky loser qualification by three-tenths of a second.
“I’m not super happy with it,” he said. “But the quarterfinal was nice.”
After the emotional volatility of the Games, including a crash in his opening race, a silver medal in the team sprint with Ben Ogden, Schumacher’s energy felt steadier in Falun.
“I wouldn’t say I’m digging deep,” he said. “I think I’m just enjoying the ride.”
After an Olympic training block, Jack Young (USA) is back racing on the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Young’s Gamble
Jack Young arrived in Sweden with a different story.
He made the Olympic team but did not earn one of the four U.S. sprint starts in Val di Fiemme. Rather than chase race sharpness, he chose volume.
“I trained very hard for the two weeks leading up to Falun,” Young wrote us in an email after the race. “The theory was that my speed was really good and I needed a fitness boost to finish out the season well.”
This may have been a bit of a risk, but one Young was willing to take.
“I’ve never trained even close to this much volume this close to a World Cup sprint,” he said. “But it seems to have paid off.”
He did not miss race intensity.
“In fact, the two weeks of training were some of my favorite weeks of the winter.”
Young benefited from Filip Skari’s disqualification after he received a second yellow card of the season in the quarterfinals, advancing to the semifinals. There, the course’s tactical nuance intervened.
“I wanted to ski the corner really well, exit with speed, and hopefully overtake Vike and Ersson right before the course kicks up again,” he said. “I had too much speed out of the corner and passed Vike too early and lost the draft.”
The mistake was microscopic, but the consequence decisive.
“Today was hectic but fun,” Young said. “Really cool sprint racing.”
If there was a change in him, it was mental.
“This was probably the most locked in I’ve been for a World Cup semifinal,” he said. “I was ready to really race with those guys and try to beat them.”
For a 23-year-old navigating the narrowest margins in sprint racing, that shift may matter as much as fitness.
Kevin Bolger, who narrowly missed Olympic selection, qualified for the heats but was eliminated in a stacked quarterfinal that included Klaebo. (Photo: Thibaut/NordicFocus)
Bolger’s Return
For Kevin Bolger, the weeks surrounding the Olympics were heavier. Bolger narrowly missed selection for Milan-Cortina, and the emotional toll was real.
“I mean — at the beginning, life sucked,” he said. “It feels like everything is against you and that I was wronged.”
He had been to the Olympics before — in Beijing — and that perspective helped, but it did not soften the blow.
“It still really sucked and hurt a lot,” he said.
Bolger’s response was simple: train.
“My motivation was training through that period and hopefully be able to attack these last World Cup weekends. And of course pour my energy into Maja and do what I could to help her get some medals.”
By the time Falun arrived and the World Cup season got restarted, Bolger felt ready. He knew his quarterfinal would be stacked — Johannes Klæbo among those in the heat — and expected the pace to be high.
“I was prepared for that,” he said. “I felt great and was mentally ready for the pace.”
But on a course like Falun — fast, tactical, draft-dependent — ski speed can decide everything.
“I don’t think I had the most competitive skis in my heat,” Bolger said. “So on a fast tactical course, it’s a bit of an uphill battle. I was hoping to catch the draft coming back to the stadium, but the skis didn’t seem to be running as I’d hoped. But that’s life, and we move on.”
Bolger did not struggle to keep pace with the athletes racing in Val di Fiemme.
“It’s not that hard,” he said. “I had a few weekends of racing to help keep the sharpness going and the shape. It always seems to get better when you can actually just get back into a good training routine. And right now I feel like I’m in a great place and just happy to be racing back in the heats.”
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) climbs one of the sprint course hills in front of the Swedish fans in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
The Stakes Beyond Saturday
Klaebo’s victory further tightened his grip on the sprint and overall standings.
The distance globe remains mathematically alive, though narrowing. The sprint globe appears close to decided, and the overall lead, barring collapse, is substantial.
What remains compelling is not merely whether Klaebo will win, but whether he will complete something approaching total seasonal dominance.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) once again makes it look easy during his win in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
After the Olympics, and the understandable fatigue that would be a result of winning gold in all six races, you might expect Klaebo to take some time off from the World Cup… he did not.
Klaebo moves forward, and what awaits in Lake Placid, where fans will gather to celebrate the close of the season and Jessie Diggins’ final World Cup start, is the possibility of witnessing something the sport has never seen: a Tour de Ski title, an Olympic sweep, and three Crystal Globes claimed in a single winter.
In a season already defined by dominance, Klaebo is now skiing toward something that would endure long after the snow melts.
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Lars Heggen (NOR), Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), and Benjamin Moser (AUT), (l-r) share the Freestyle Sprint podium in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Authamayou/NordicFocus)
Norway’s 25-year-old Emil Iversen celebrates his first win of the season on Sunday in the men’s 30 k classic mass start, which he won by 3.7 seconds over fellow Norwegian Martin Johnsrud Sundby (yellow bib). (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
$75,400: the yearly amount top Norwegian national-team members reportedly make, not counting sponsorships — closer to the amount someone like Iversen, 25, is now making.
The look on Iversen’s face on Sunday after crossing the finish line first on Sunday for his first World Cup win of the season? Priceless.
The victory, which he secured by 3.7 seconds over his team’s superstar Martin Johnsrud Sundby in the men’s 30-kilometer classic mass start in Falun, Sweden, was his second in a World Cup distance race and fourth of his career.
But the way Iversen talks, he should’ve been winning every race this season.
“My performance says a lot; I’m pretty good at skiing and I master several things,” he told VG.
Iversen’s World Cup win on Sunday was redemption for what he deemed a sub-par performance on Saturday. Second place by 0.06 seconds was unacceptable, and the look on his face and the pole he snapped in two after the men’s freestyle sprint final said it all.
“I’ve been pretty mad at my little brothers, but I don’t think I’ve been this angry in years,” Iversen told NRK.
For the sake of reflection, let’s rewind to a year ago, when Iversen credited training with the best, Norway’s Petter Northug.
“I have trained too much with him now I think,” Northug said at a February 2016 post-race press conference in Lahti, Finland.
Iversen, then 24 with his second sprint World Cup victory, jested that he knew Northug’s weakness, but there was no way he was disclosing it.
“I know what that is, so I’m going to use it also next year,” he said.
It’s now next year, and Northug’s nowhere in sight — at least not until Sunday, when he returned to the World Cup for the first time in over a month to finish 31st as the seventh-best Norwegian (out of nine) in the 30 k mass start.
Northug finished a whopping 3 minutes and 10.6 seconds behind Iversen, who’s proven himself one of Norway’s strongest starters in any given race.
“The plan is sprint, team sprint, classic distance and the relay,” Iversen said of 2017 World Championships, slightly less than a month away in Lahti, Finland.
At the same time, he explained he hadn’t heard anything definitive about Norway’s World Championships team.
“I haven’t heard sh*t, so maybe they don’t have faith in me. But I’ve handed in some good applications,” he said. “I think I was born to do a team sprint. The distance suits me incredibly well.”
Asked who he’d pick as his teammate, Iversen was uncertain.
“It would have been fun to do it with Petter, but if you’re gonna do the team sprint you need to have performed well in the distance,” he said.
How the tables have turned…
Emil Iversen (11) leading fellow Norwegian Martin Johnsrud Sundby (yellow bib) in the men’s 30 k classic mass start on Sunday at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
On Sunday, Iversen hung in where he needed to, within striking distance of the leaders in the six-lap 30 k.
Conditions weren’t easy, with temperatures around -4 degrees Celsius (25 Fahrenheit) and snow that was described as “sugary” in Falun. Iversen scored bonus points at three out of the four intermediate sprints on the course, racing through the 6.5 k checkpoint in fourth, 16.5 k in fifth, and 21.5 k in fifth.
Meanwhile, his teammates Sundby and Sjur Røthe mostly drove the pace up front. With 10 k to go, Røthe made a move and put five seconds into the field. One and a half kilometers later, at the final bonus sprint, Røthe had built that lead to 8.5 seconds. Skiing alone and having to herringbone outside the tracks, however, isn’t easy, and Røthe was swallowed by the pack as he entered the stadium for the final lap at 25 k.
Sweden’s Daniel Rickardsson was one of several different men to take the lead after that point, before Iversen moved into first halfway around the loop at 27.5 k. Finland’s Iivo Niskanen followed, along with Sundby, both within a second of first. By 28.2 k, Sundby was again leading Iversen and Niskanen, with a 1.4-second gap to Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh and Røthe in fourth.
With less than a kilometer remaining, Sundby began his final push. Iversen caught up to him, ultimately challenging Sundby for the win. With about 200 meters to go, Iversen made it clear he was going take it all on Sunday — not second to Sundby or anyone else. He crossed the line first in 1:15:46.7 minutes, 3.7 seconds ahead of Sundby.
Norway’s Emil Iversen double poling to a decisive victory on Sunday, ahead of Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby (yellow bib) and Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson (in white) in the World Cup men’s 30 k classic mass start in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
“It felt good when I realized there was no Italian in the final stretch like yesterday,” Iversen told NRK, referring to his photo-finish loss in the sprint to Italy’s Federico Pellegrino.
“There was a war between me and Martin,” he said of Sunday’s distance race. “It turned out a little like I wanted it to, and then it’s all about attacking.”
The overall World Cup leader by more than 300 points, Sundby settled for second and Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson locked up third, 5.6 seconds behind Iversen. Just 0.1 seconds off the podium, Røthe placed fourth. Norway had four in the top five with Niklas Dyrhaug in fifth (+8.2), while Niskanen finished sixth (+9.8), Rickardsson was seventh (+10.3), and Bessmertnykh eighth (+10.9).
Iversen currently ranks seventh in the overall World Cup standings, behind Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov (who placed 12th on Sunday) in second, Finland’s Matti Heikkinen (14th on Sunday) in third, Canada’s Alex Harvey (15th) in fourth, Sweden’s Marcus Hellner (didn’t race on Sunday) in fifth, and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (16th) in sixth.
‘Double Whammy’ for Canada’s Harvey
For most of the first two laps of Sunday’s 30 k, Harvey skied in the top three. By 10 k, he had dropped to ninth, but was still within 3 seconds of Ustiugov up front. One lap later, he remained in the top 10 and 2.3 seconds out of first, before dropping back to 16th and 7 seconds behind Iversen in first at 20 k.
“The first lap the kick was still, it was not locker kick, but I honestly don’t think anybody had locker kick today, it was hard to get good grip,” Harvey explained on the phone after. “So the first two laps, till 10 k was fairly comfortable, I was not fighting the skis too much, but then from 10 k to 20, I started fighting the skis a lot. I would kind of drift on the uphills, but my skis were really fast so I could kind of come back with the group. Even being at the tail of the group I could still use the draft and everything, but then at one point, the elastic just popped and I couldn’t come back anymore.”
Canada’s Alex Harvey (3) skiing behind Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson (17) and ahead of Russia’s Dmitriy Japarov (r) during the World Cup men’s 30 k classic mass start in Falun, Sweden. Harvey finished 15th. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)
For the last 10 k, Harvey held on, skiing with Cologna (among others) while fighting to stay within reach of the podium. Just 6.8 seconds out of first in 16th at 25 k, Harvey slipped to 55 seconds back in 15th just over 3 k later. He finished 1:17.5 back in 15th (13.8 seconds behind Heikkinen in 14th and 4.7 seconds ahead of Cologna in 16th).
“I was just losing a bit more kick every lap and getting more and more tired,” Harvey explained. “So it’s harder to compensate and yet you have less energy to compensate so it was just kind of a double whammy.”
According to Canadian World Cup coach Ivan Babikov, he told the team’s two racers on Sunday — Harvey and Cendrine Browne (who competed in the women’s 15 k classic mass start) — that no one would have perfect kick because of the soft conditions.
“It’s more like a running, double poling [race],” Babikov said on the phone after. “The uphills, especially Mördarbacken, got pretty mashed-potatoey. It was really sugary, super soft and really hard to get kick for many nations, and we struggled with the kick wax today. That’s a bit disappointing to all of us … but it’s one of those days that we did our best…
“We tried actually changing it for Cendrine, but it actually got even worse somehow and she struggled even more,” he said of Browne, who finished 46th in the women’s race.
“Not the proudest day of the season so far on the waxing side, but we’re just moving forward and learning from our mistakes,” Babikov continued.
The day before, Harvey missed qualifying for the skate-sprint heats in 46th. It was only his second time time not qualifying in a sprint this season and first time outside the top 40.
“Falun being arguably the best stop for me on the World Cup, I really had quite high expectations,” Harvey said on Sunday. “I think I went to the start line [of the skate sprint] a bit too excited and with too much adrenaline and I just really skied really bad. I didn’t ski like myself yesterday. I skied all tempo and no tempo and no glide, and for me, that’s not a good way to ski.”
Canada’s Alex Harvey finishing 15th in the World Cup men’s 30 k classic mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden, ahead of Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (in black) in 16th. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)
As for the conditions on Sunday and how they affected his race, he blamed his choice in skis.
“[The conditions were] kind of a bit abrasive, but we think the binder didn’t hold up enough,” he explained. “I made a bit of a risky pick because I had a pair [of skis] that was way faster, but the kick was a bit limited on them in the beginning so I for sure paid for it when I started losing a bit of kick.”
He started to lose it after 10 k, he said.
“Then I could kind of fake it for 10 more k’s, but then that was it,” Harvey explained. “Coming 15th is a bit of a disappointment after the previous two weekends, but I know that the shape is still really good. I think that with the mistake I made, with picking a bit of a too slick of a ski, I could’ve been out of the top 30 today in those conditions, so it was still kind of a good sign even though it was a bit disappointing.”
The Canadian team in Falun was a lean one, not by design but rather because of circumstance, especially on the men’s side. Babikov explained that Knute Johnsgaard had been recovering from a stomach bug he picked up last week, which prompted an overnight hospital stay in Falun. He was on the mend, Babikov said, but had a “rough couple days.”
Graeme Killick had returned to Canmore, Alberta, after the Tour de Ski earlier this month and originally planned to be back on the circuit in Falun.
“But unfortunately he got sick as well so that kind of postponed all of it,” Babikov said. “We made the decision that it would be best to get ready for the World Champs … so he’s doing some good training at home and we’ll see him in a week in Davos [Switzerland, at the team’s training camp].”
Until then, Harvey will go to Livigno, Italy, with coach Louis Bouchard, Johnsgaard, and Browne, Babikov will return to Canmore, Len Valjas will race at next weekend’s World Cup in PyeongChang, South Korea, and Devon Kershaw will continue to await the birth of his first child with his wife, Kristin Størmer Steira.
Among the Americans in Sunday’s 30 k classic, a race that has only been held three times in the last 10 years, according to an International Ski Federation (FIS) press release, Erik Bjornsen and Noah Hoffman finished 35th (+3:30.8) and 37th (+3:59.8), respectfully, followed by Matt Gelso in 44th (+5:23.6) and Andy Newell in 53rd (+7:45.3).
For Bjornsen, who finished about 20 seconds behind Northug in 31st, he reflected that he was happy with the majority of his race.
“Most of the race I was skiing in a position I would have been very happy to finished in,” Bjornsen wrote in an email, after hovering in 25th to 30th throughout it. “I skied alone for about 10km near the end of the race and that was enough to put me over. I really needed some help to stay away from a pack of 10 guys that were hunting me down. I could see a them chasing me down for about 10km. They finally caught me with 4km to go. I didn’t have much fuel left in the tank. It was really disappointing to finish in 35th when at 25km I was in 24th.”
On Monday, he planned to head to France, where he’ll spend two weeks training before racing the pre-World Championships World Cup in Otepää, Estonia.
Meanwhile, FasterSkier caught up with Hoffman while he was packing his bags for South Korea.
“I had not a great start for the first k and a half, and then kind of made a good move on the first time up the big hill and was able to run by a bunch of people and move up into the top 30, which is where I wanted to be skiing,” Hoffman reflected of his race on Sunday. “And I noticed that I had the fastest split of the whole race for that section [from around 0.5 to 2 k].
“But then I paid the price for that a little bit and faded pretty quickly,” Hoffman added. “And really Laps 2 and 3 were a bit of a struggle, and I ended up in no-man’s land off the back of the group all by myself.”
He regrouped for the third and fourth laps, catching back up to a sub-group of skiers that had been dropped from the main group, skiing between 30th and 40th place.
“I skied with that group for a while and was feeling pretty good, and I was actually helping lead the charge up to another group that was falling off the main pack, and that represented all the way up to 24th place,” Hoffman said. “And right as we made contact with them, with about 5 k to go, I crashed on the same corner that I crashed on three years ago when I was having a good race in the mass start skate race here. And it’s just a terrible place to crash, right on the sprint course as you are coming into the stadium with a lot of speed.”
In an instant, he had lost an estimated 13 places and skied alone for the final 5 k, out of reach of that group.
“All of a sudden, I was like ‘OK, six or seven people out of this group are gonna get points … and that could have been me.’ I felt good, and so I let points today go with that crash,” he said. “There were some good signs today, and it’s a frustrating result. It’s a result where I felt I was better than the result shows. But it’s kind of been a frustrating season.
“I still feel good, and I think today was a positive sign, and there are still some really good races [coming up for me],” Hoffman added.
Among those were next weekend’s races in PyeongChang, with a classic sprint, 15/30 k skiathlons, and a freestyle team sprint from Feb. 3-5. (Hoffman planned to race the skiathlon.)
“Next weekend [in Korea] it’s gonna be a light field. And then we go back to Otepää, where I scored my first-ever World Cup points on a course that I really love,” he said. “And then with the World Championships, which obviously if you are successful at World Championships then nobody remembers the rest of the season. And I feel like I can have a really good championship. Those courses suit me really well, and I am particularly psyched for the 50 k skate there…”
American Matt Gelso racing to 59th in his first-ever World Cup sprint on Saturday in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)
He’ll be joined in PyeongChang by a few other U.S. Ski Team members (mostly sprinters, as well as distance skier Liz Stephen). Gelso, the Period 1 SuperTour leader from the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, also planned to be there.
“Today was a solid race, not great, but solid,” Gelso, who previously raced in Falun at 2015 World Championships, wrote in an email on Sunday. “World Cups in Scandinavia are very competitive so I am relatively happy with my result although it leaves MUCH room for improvement. My body also felt MUCH better than it has since I have been here. The sprint yesterday was my first World Cup sprint and was also a decent result for me [in 59th], however it was easy to identify a few costly mistakes.
“The overarching goal on the World Cup is to score World Cup points/have a top 30 result,” Gelso explained. “As far as a non-result goal it is hard to get over to Europe and acclimate to sea level, European courses, wetter snow, different food, very stout competition, timezone changes, long travel, etc. It is easy to come over here and feel pretty bad racing, always feeling like you are blowing up and hanging on and never really racing. My goal today was to not feel like that and actually be able to get a race feeling going in my body.”
Looking ahead, he was focused on next weekend’s World Cup in South Korea. While an individual top 30 remains his goal, Gelso explained he also wanted to “nail my travel and acclimatization there so that I can feel good racing, and race well.”
He planned to return to the U.S. after to race the SuperTour in Ishpeming, Mich., and the American Birkebeiner in Wisconsin. Ultimately, he hoped to qualify for the World Cup Finals in mid-March in Quebec City.
Norway’s Marit Bjørgen celebrates her 105th individual World Cup win on Sunday after finishing first, ahead of teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, in the women’s 15-kilometer classic mass start in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
*Note: this article has been updated to include comments from U.S. women’s head coach Matt Whitcomb as of Monday, Jan. 30.
After sealing her 105th individual World Cup victory on Sunday, and her second distance win in a row, Marit Bjørgen is shutting out any doubt. The 36-year-old Norwegian was the first across the line in the women’s 15-kilometer classic mass start in Falun, Sweden, besting her teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg by half of a second, as well as the current overall World Cup leader, Heidi Weng, also of Norway.
“It’s great to be able to win World Cups still,” Bjørgen said according to an International Ski Federation (FIS) press release. “The young girls are strong, so it feels good to be able to come out with a win.
Starting in bib 5, Bjørgen wasted no time putting her teammates and the field to work. By 1.5 k she was in the lead, pulling Østberg and Weng, as well as Sweden’s Stina Nilsson — yesterday’s sprint winner — and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski.
Norway’s Marit Bjørgen (5) leads her teammates Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (3) and Heidi Weng during the World Cup women’s 15 k classic mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Also within firing range was American Jessie Diggins, skiing in seventh, along with Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen and Maiken Caspersen Falla, and Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla.
However, within another four kilometers, the Norwegians had broken away, a close to seven-second gap forming from them to Nilsson and Pärmäkoski.
While Bjørgen led for the first third of the race, Østberg took over by 10 k and Weng continued to follow in third.
With 1.8 k to go, Bjørgen was back to the front, Nilsson the closest challenger to the Norwegians just over 30 seconds behind.
“I thought Stina might catch me, so I am very happy to make the podium today,” Weng said, according to a FIS press release.
As the three headed into the second-to-last major climb, Østberg pushed to the front, Bjørgen trailing back. But coming into the final climb, Bjørgen moved back into first as she herringboned to the far outside right of Østberg, almost departing the marked course.
“I didn’t ski the final climb well … Marit got a gap and I wasn’t able to close it,” Østberg said according to FIS. “I wasn’t satisfied with yesterday’s sprint result, so it’s good to be back on the podium today.”
Left to right: Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Marit Bjørgen and Heidi Weng celebrate an all-Norwegian podium in the women’s 15-kilometer classic mass start on Sunday at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
In a double-pole sprint to the finish, Bjørgen held off Østberg for the win in a time of 41:28.8. Østberg finished half a second later for second place, followed by Weng in third (+8.1).
The first American across the line was Diggins in 10th (+1:37.5) wearing bib 4. While the Afton, Minn., native explained that Sunday’s sugary conditions are some of her least favorite, the opportunity to put her classic striding to the test was something she welcomed.
After losing the leaders, the 25-year-old Diggins skied with a mix of Finnish skiers, including Laura Mononen, Anne Kyllönen, and Kerttu Niskanen, as well as Norway’s Falla.
“Early on I tried to go with the leaders but then settled into a great pack of girls to ski with and it came down to an exciting sprint out,” Diggins wrote in an email. “I’m really looking forward to some rest and then a quality training camp with some family time in Valadalen [Sweden] for the next few weeks! My boyfriend is here cheering me on and coming to camp with me, and then my parents come next week so I have so many great things to look forward to!”
The second U.S. woman across the line was Sadie Bjornsen in 21st (+2:43.6). A known lover of all-things-classic, Bjornsen was disappointed when she found herself tired during Sunday’s race. The 27 year old, however, was happy that she made it through the mental and physical challenge.
“Today I literally gave everything I had, and while I am not stoked on the number or result, I am really proud that I kept fighting through that wall in front of my face,” Bjornsen wrote. “It was really challenging classic skiing out there, which I love, so I am sad to have missed an opportunity to fight in those tricky conditions. Big shoutout to our team for giving me good skis! I am looking forward to some rest and recovery to rebuild for a big and important block of racing to come!”
American Caitlin Patterson (33) and Canadian Cendrine Browne (45) racing the women’s 15-kilometer classic mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden, along with Germany’s Elisabeth Schicho (38) and Italy’s Giulia Stuerz (25). (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Two other American women also scored World Cup points, including Rosie Brennan in 24th (+2:57.0) and Liz Stephen in 29th (+3:24.5).
Despite the sugary conditions and deteriorated tracks due to the men’s race, Brennan explained that Sunday’s snow was what she was looking for coming into the 15 k.
“I actually really enjoy skiing in this kind of condition so I was optimistic about today’s race,” the 28-year-old Brennan wrote in an email. “I felt that I was fighting a bit of fatigue out there and only really had one speed, luckily it was a decent speed and I was able to hold consistent throughout the race.”
Also competing for the U.S. finishing just outside the points was Caitlin Patterson in 32nd (+3:47.6) and Ida Sargent in 34th (+4:02.8).
“Today was a solid day for the team,” U.S. women’s head coach, Matt Whitcomb wrote in an email. “We fought hard, and nearly accomplished what I will consider to be a huge achievement for the women, and that will be when we regularly can score our full national quota (6) in the points. Today we had 4, with a close 32nd and 34th. That’s close to where I know we can be.”
Canada’s lone competitor in the women’s race, Cendrine Browne crossed in 46th (+5:41.4) and American Liz Guiney finished 49th (+6:22.6).
Italy’s Federico Pellegrino (2) edging Norway’s Emil Iversen (9) by 0.06 seconds for the win, with Norway’s Sindre Bjørnestad Skar (l) following in third and Sweden’s Oskar Svensson (5) in fourth, in the men’s freestyle sprint final on Saturday at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
It didn’t seem likely until the last second – but last season’s star sprinter has once again arrived on the World Cup circuit.
Italy’s Federico Pellegrino collected his ninth individual win on Saturday in Falun, Sweden, nipping Norway’s Emil Iversen by six-hundredths of a second in a photo finish in the freestyle sprint. The winner of last year’s Sprint World Cup, Pellegrino didn’t make his first sprint final of the season until after Christmas.
However, since then, he has been second (in Val Müstair, Switzerland), fourth (in Toblach, Italy), and now, finally, first.
“This season is not so easy right now for me,” he told the International Ski Federation (FIS) in a finish-line interview. “Now I think [the way it is going] is the right way, going toward the World Championships.”
Pellegrino had the second-fastest qualifying time around the 1.4-kilometer course in the morning. Then, he won his quarterfinal with a blazing display of speed at the finish to best Norway’s Finn Hågen Krogh. In the semifinal, Pellegrino pulled a similar move to win the heat by 0.21 seconds over Sweden’s Teodor Peterson.
In the final, coming into the last few hundred meters it looked like Pellegrino was too far off the pace to make it to the front. The rest of the men – all Swedes and Norwegians – jostled for the lead constantly. As the field shot down a long hill into the stadium, though, Pellegrino made his way to the front; he said he had amazing skis. He followed Iversen over the last bump of an uphill and down a corner to the finish. The pair’s paced outstripped anything the others could keep up with.
“In the final I showed up still fresh, but with a long downhill before the finish I couldn’t pull, and when you’re behind you risk losing [moves],” he told the Italian Winter Sports Federation, according to a translation. “In fact, I found myself in fifth place and I thought I would not make it. But on the last hill before the finish I took a wide path and I went for it, giving everything I had in the body. Then I made it a photo finish.”
Iversen had thought he had the win in the bag. He seemed incredulous that Pellegrino could catch up with him in the final meters – and the Italian timed his finishing lunge better, eventually edging Iversen by just six hundredths of a second.
Iversen slapped his poles in the snow in frustration after finishing, breaking one, and lay unsmiling while the two waited for the results of the photo finish. He remained restrained during the post-race photo opportunities.
“I thought I had the win today,” Iversen told FIS. “I didn’t know who was coming but I could feel the shadow. I was very disappointed in the finish but in the end I have to be happy with second place.”
“I’ve been pretty mad at my little brothers, but I don’t think I’ve been this angry in years,” Iversen elaborated to NRK.
Another photo finish gave Sindre Bjørnestad Skar of Norway third place (+0.47), by three hundredths of a second over Falun’s own Oskar Svensson. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo – the fastest qualifier on the day – finished fifth (+1.32), and Peterson placed sixth (+2.08).
The men’s freestyle sprint podium on Saturday at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden, with Italian winner Federico Pellegrino (c), and Norway’s Emil Iversen (r) in second and Sindre Bjørnestad Skar (l) in third. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
“It’s really tough to make it on World Cup as a Norwegian and so every time I can make a podium result it is important,” Skar told FIS, referring to simply earning start rights.
Indeed: Pål Golberg, who before this weekend led the Sprint Cup, did not even get the chance to start Saturday’s race. The Norwegian team deemed him too slow. Other skiers also found this amazing. Alex Harvey told Norwegian media that the Canadian team would be happy to take Golberg and give him a starting spot.
“They seem sure, like me, that it’s comical,” Golberg told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. “I’ve certainly gotten lots of messages from people who think it’s strange, so I’m glad that other people share that view.”
He now worries that he might not have a chance to start the sprint at World Championships. Five of the top seven men in the Sprint Cup standings are Norwegian: Skar in second, Iversen in fourth, Krogh in fifth, Golberg in sixth, and Klæbo in seventh.
There’s no such problem for Italy, a team which is thrilled that its star is back in top form. Pellegrino now has the most podiums in skate sprints of any Italian man ever, with 13.
World Championships is the only thing on his mind.
“At this time the [Sprint Cup] ranking does not interest me,” he said in the federation press release. “I’ll skip the next stage in Korea, and then will race in Otepaa [Estonia, the last World Cup before World Championships.”
Valjas 10th After Blistering Quarterfinal Finish
Len Valjas (Canadian World Cup Team) racing in Saturday’s freestyle sprint at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden, where he ended up 10th on the day. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Only two Canadians started the sprint. Alex Harvey missed qualifying in 46th, but teammate Len Valjas not only made the quarterfinals, but shone there.
Valjas was skiing near the back of his heat, only to find his way to the front at the last possible moment, much like Pellegrino. While Klæbo had seemed to have the quarterfinal locked up with only a possible challenge from Andrew Young of Great Britain remaining in the finishing stretch, Young and Valjas came down the last downhill with more momentum and some speed in their legs. Eventually all three crossed the line together in a photo finish, from which Valjas emerged second.
In his semifinal heat, Valjas also hung near the back of the pack. But the whole heat finished within about a second, and he wasn’t able to fight his way through the crowd. Valjas landed fifth, this time 0.99 seconds behind heat winner Klæbo.
“I definitely felt like I had a little more,” Valjas said in a Cross Country Canada press release. “I was able to close in the finish, but I just lost a little too much contact with the pack. I had the speed at the finish and felt great. I was really comfortable staying at the back. I thought I could bring it back on the second hill, but I just stayed a little too far back. I needed to work on my tactics a bit better.”
He finished 10th overall, his best individual result in a year since he finished 10th in a classic sprint in Oberstdorf, Germany, as part of last year’s Tour de Ski.
“I had great skis and I know the fitness is there,” Valjas said in the press release. “Being in the fifth heat in the quarters, I likely could have used about five more minutes of rest time before the next heat, but I can’t complain and have to be happy with a top 10.”
Hamilton, Newell in the Quarters
Simi Hamilton (U.S. Ski Team) racing to 13th in the men’s qualifier of the 1.4 k freestyle sprint on Saturday at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. He went on to place 18th on the day. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
For the U.S., Simi Hamilton qualified 13th and Andy Newell 25th. Both were at the front of their quarterfinal heats at some point, before fading at the finish.
For Hamilton, things more or less immediately deviated from plan.
“I actually lost my basket on my right pole coming out of the start,” Hamilton said. “The pole holes were pretty gnarly at the start since people are double poling so hard, and I think my basket got stuck in on of the previous pole plant holes… [the snow] was actually firm enough that I could still pole pretty well, but I knew that the rest of the course got a little bit softer. So Andrew Morehouse, who is one of our techs, made a great hand-off and I got a new pole at the first corner. That’s probably only 20-25 seconds in the race at the point, but I was definitely off that back a little bit.”
Hamilton did manage to catch back up to the group. And then on the last uphill before the descent to the stadium, the skiers in the left lane got a bit jammed up. Being in the right lane, Hamilton was able to ski freely – but then found himself leading the heat, exactly what he didn’t want to do.
As Pellegrino had said, leading down the hill into the stadium means that most likely, the competition would sail past you thanks to the draft effect.
“You know, a lot of the race was going to come down to that final little bump that is in the stadium,” Hamilton said. “So I knew if I came into that with some really good momentum and hopefully get a slingshot off of someone in front of me, that I would be able to crush that bump and make a move into the finish lanes and then have a open lane for the finish… that was what I was really hoping for, it didn’t totally play out like that.”
Instead, a few competitors slingshot past Hamilton.
“I kind of found myself tangling with a lot of dudes going over that bump and through that corner,” he explained. “I just didn’t really ski the last 200 meters the way I would have really liked to, with a lot of energy power and speed. So found myself fighting in the pack going into the finishing stretch. I just focused on just skiing a good finish, and unfortunately wasn’t quite enough.”
He landed fourth in his heat (+0.87), and not close enough to get a lucky loser spot. He finished 18th on the day.
Andy Newell (U.S. Ski Team) racing to 25th in the men’s qualifier of the World Cup freestyle sprint in Falun, Sweden. He ended up 16th on the day.(Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
“It’s a frustrating day, but I felt good in my qualifier, and it’s hard course and I know my fitness is really good right now,” Hamilton said. “It was just kind of one of those days that happens out there, not a lot of things really connecting in terms of luck and positioning and equipment. But still a decent day so I am okay with it.”
Newell also found himself outgunned in the final meters, finishing third in his heat and 16th on the day.
Also for the U.S., Erik Bjornsen finished 43rd (+9.30) and Matt Gelso 59th (+13.12) in the qualifier.
Sweden’s Stina Nilsson celebrates her second-straight World Cup sprint victory on Saturday after winning the 1.4 k freestyle sprint at home in Falun, Sweden.
FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Falun, Sweden): Men’s & women’s freestyle sprints
[UPDATED] Kikkan Randall reached the final for the first time since March 2015 on Saturday in the women’s 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. The American qualified 26th and went on to advance in second out of her quarterfinal and semifinal to reach the six-woman final, where she ended up fifth.
Sweden’s Stina Nilsson won the final by one-hundredth of a second over Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla, finishing in 3:00.24 minutes. Nilsson had started the day by qualifying in sixth, 2.52 seconds behind Norway’s Marit Bjørgen, who won the qualifier in 3:00.64. This is Nilsson’s second-straight World Cup sprint win after skipping the freestyle sprint in Toblach, Italy, following the Tour de Ski.
While Bjørgen went on to win her quarterfinal, she finished fifth in her semifinal to end up ninth on the day.
Norway had two on the women’s podium with Heidi Weng in third, 1.88 seconds behind Nilsson. Finland’s Krista Parmakoski placed fourth (+1.99), and Randall was fifth (+2.56) for her best result in two years (she took last season off to have a baby). Sweden’s Jonna Sundling reached the final as well and finished sixth (+8.02).
Five U.S. women qualified for the heats, with Jessie Diggins qualifying fifth and ultimately crashing in her semifinal, where she finished fifth. That put her 10th overall on the day. Sophie Caldwell qualified third and finished fourth in her quarterfinal for 16th on the day, Sadie Bjornsen qualified 17th and also finished fourth in her quarterfinal for 19th overall, and Ida Sargent made the top-30 qualifying cutoff in 30th, then placed fifth in her quarterfinal for 25th overall.
Bjørgen topped the freestyle sprint qualifier on Saturday morning, clocking the fastest time around the 1.4 k course by just 0.08 seconds over Hanna Falk of Sweden.Caldwell qualified third (+1.23),Digginsqualified fifth (+2.39),Bjornsen17th (+5.04),Randall26th (+6.64), andSargent 30th (+8.28). Rosie Brennan (U.S. Ski Team) missed the cut in 37th (+10.90) and Liz Guiney finished 56th (+32.87). The lone Canadian woman racing on Saturday, Cendrine Browne placed 46th (+14.02).
In the men’s 1.4 k freestyle sprint final, Italy’s Federico Pellegrino held off three Norwegians and two Swedes to win in 2:45.77. The defending Sprint World Cup champion qualified second and went on to win his quarterfinal and semifinal before taking the final by six-hundredths of a second.
Norway took the remaining spots on the podium with Emil Iversen in second (+0.06) and Sindre Bjørnestad Skar in third (+0.47). Sweden’s Oskar Svensson was three-hundredths of a second off the podium in fourth (+0.50). The fastest qualifier in 2:34.49, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo reached the final and ultimately took fifth (+1.32), and Sweden’s Teodor Peterson placed sixth (+2.08).
Canada’s Len Valjas was the top North American in 10th. He qualified 20th, advanced in second from his quarterfinal and finished fifth in his semifinal.
American Andy Newell was 16th after qualifying in 25th and finishing third in his quarterfinal. U.S. teammate Simi Hamilton followed in 18th, after qualifying 13th and finishing fourth in his quarterfinal.
In the men’s qualifier, Klæbo was 1.05 seconds faster thanPellegrinoand another 0.02 seconds faster than Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov in third.
For the U.S., Hamiltonqualified 13th (+4.52) andNewell qualified 25th (+6.74). Erik Bjornsen placed 43rd (+9.30) and Matt Gelso 59th (+13.12).
Valjaswas the lone Canadian man to make the heats, qualifying 20th (+6.22). The only other starter, Alex Harvey, placed 46th (+9.71).
IBU Open European Championships (Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland): Men’s & women’s pursuits
The men’s pursuit podium at 2017 IBU Open European Championships on Saturday in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland, with Russia’s Alexander Loginov (c) in first, Evgeniy Garanichev (l) in second, and Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs (r) in third. (Photo: IBU)
Russia’s Alexander Loginov racked up his second win of the 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Open European Championships on Saturday in the mens’ 12.5-kilometer pursuit in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland.
After starting second, 5 seconds behind Bulgaria’s Vladimir Iliev, who won Friday’s sprint, Loginov proceeded to clean three straight stages before missing one on his final standing to cross the line first in 31:46.2 minutes.
“It was not as easy as it seemed, because from the first loop Vladimir set a really good speed,” Loginov said, according to an IBU press release. “Today we had great sunny and windless weather again, so I managed to shoot well. Probably that is why it [looked] so easy.”
Russia took first and second place with Evgeniy Garanichev following 27.8 seconds later, after starting 17th (56 seconds out of first) and shooting 19-for-20 (0+0+1+0).
“After yesterday’s sprint, I managed to work well and to show good result in pursuit, so I’m sure glad to win the silver medal,” Garanichev said, according to the IBU.
Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs improved on his fourth place in the sprint to reach the pursuit podium in third (+59.5) despite four penalties (0+1+1+2).
“On the last loop I had the information about the guys who were behind me and in front of me,” Rastorgujevs said, according to the IBU. “I was just fighting and did all I could do to get to the podium.”
Bulgaria’s Krasimir Anev, who started third, slipped to fifth (+1:28.6) with two penalties (0+1+1+0), behind Russia’s third man in the top four, Alexey Volkov in fourth (+1:01.6). Iliev as the first starter ended up 11th (+1:41.7) with six penalties (2+2+0+2).
The two Americans who had qualified for the pursuit by placing in the top 60 of Friday’s sprint, Paul Schommer and Alex Howe improved to 48th (+5:07.1) and 51st (+5:42.3), respectively.
Schommer started 58th, just ahead of Howe in 59th, and missed five targets, all in his first two prone stages (3+2+0+0). Howe accumulated four penalties (1+2+1+0).
No Canadians qualified for the pursuit.
[UPDATED] In the women’s 10 k pursuit that followed, Russia’s Irina Starykh picked up her second win and third consecutive podium of the championships, with clean shooting en route to a 19.8-second victory in 30:04.4.
Starykh started third, 38 seconds behind Ukraine’s Juliya Dzhyma and 11 seconds after her Russian teammate Svetlana Sleptsova, respectively. Dzhima missed two on her last two standing stages (0+0+1+1) to slip to second, and Sleptsova dropped one place to third (+32.1) with one prone penalty (0+1+0+0).
Veronika Vítková of the Czech Republic improved from seventh to fourth (+47.8) with two penalties (0+1+1+0), and Russia’s Svetlana Mironova moved all the way up from 13th to fifth (+1:29.6) with three misses (0+1+1+1). Just 0.2 seconds behind her, Poland’s Monika Hojnisz improved from 16th at the start to sixth (+1:29.6) with one penalty (0+0+0+1).
No North Americans qualified for the pursuit.
Open European Championships conclude Sunday with the single mixed and mixed relay.
Norway’s Therese Johaug celebrates her 14th World Cup victory in the 10 k freestyle mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden. Johaug led her teammates Heidi Weng and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in a Norwegian podium sweep and American Jessie Diggins placed fourth. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Liz Stephen and Caitlin Patterson.
Therese Johaug dared anyone to match her as she drove a punishing pace from the gun of the 10-kilometer freestyle mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden. But five other women, including American Jessie Diggins, took her up on the challenge and the race was on.
The fast pace from the gun strung out the 72 women in the field quickly and within minutes, a lead group of six was formed. Johaug was shadowed by her Norwegian teammates Heidi Weng, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg , and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen as well as Diggins and Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla as they ascended the infamous Mörderbacken climb in the first two kilometers of the race.
There was no trading of leads as Johaug churned away with her characteristic high tempo in the front. By 3.2 k, Johaug, Weng and Østberg had a five-second gap on Jacobsen and Diggins. Kalla fell back to the chase group, ceding the potential to repeat on the podium after she won the 10 k freestyle at Falun World Championships last year.
However, a day after notching fifth in the 5 k classic, Diggins was not going to let the Norwegian trio ski away without a fight. She took advantage of her strengths on the gliding sections of the rolling terrain the second half of the 5-kilometer lap. She overtook a fading Østberg and caught Jacobsen who tucked in behind her. She continued to hammer, bridging to Johaug and Weng.
Coming through the stadium after the first lap at 5 k, Diggins was just 3.6 seconds from the lead pair. However, when Jacobsen took her turn leading, she shifted gears to a pace Diggins couldn’t match. In pursuit of her teammates up the trail, Jacobsen put 11.2 seconds on Diggins in 1.7 k.
In contrast to Johaug’s usual untouchable domination, Weng shadowed her stride for stride for over half of the race. However, at 6.7 k, the second time up Mörderbacken, Johaug delivered an attack that Weng could not match.
Therese Johaug (r) leads Norwegian teammate Heidi Weng during the women’s 10 k freestyle mass start at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. The duo went on to place first and second, respectively, while American Jessie Diggins (back left) placed fourth. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Johaug entered the stadium clear of Weng, winning in 23:28.0 for her 14th World Cup win matching Norwegian Bente Skari’s record for the most wins in a season. Weng secured second place, 8.8 seconds back, and Jacobsen placed third (+13.9).
Meanwhile, Diggins skied alone in fourth place trying to hold off a charging chase pack. She made it to the line just four seconds ahead of the chase pack to secure fourth (+29.0). Norway’s Maria Rydqvist and Ragnhild Haga led the group behind her into the finish in fifth (+33.3) and sixth (+34.0), respectively.
Despite skiing in the lead pack early, the early pace took its toll and Østberg faded to ninth (+35.0).
After the race, Johaug explained she pulled off her race plan perfectly, although Weng held on longer than she anticipated.
“My goal was to go my own race, and go hard and smoothly from the start,”Johaug told NRK, according to a translation. “I would ‘punch’ to the last part of the hill, and it finally succeeded … I was a little nervous, for Heidi hung so well.”
According to Weng, Johaug “started like it was a sprint so there weren’t many of us from the beginning,” she told FIS. “I tried to stay with her as long as I could but my legs started to get stiff and I just focused on my technique to make sure that I still got to the finish in second place.”
Jacobsen described her battle with Diggins as mostly amicable. “We actually had some cooperation on the first lap. I have never really had that before,” she told FIS. “She told me that she would take the lead on the big downhill and then we start to catch Ingvild in the stadium and Jessie went by her quickly. I hesitated and Jessie got away, but I was able to catch her on the Mörderbacken and I pushed again on the final climb to stay ahead of her.”
Fewer than 10 seconds behind the chase group, American Liz Stephen finished 14th (+43.7), and 26-year-old Caitlin Patterson, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, placed 25th (+1:14.6) for her World Cup points in 11 starts.
“My strategy for the day was — I had a good race yesterday, I know I am in good shape — I am just going to go for broke and see what happens,” she said on the phone afterward.
Jessie Diggins charges to the finish of the World Cup 10 k freestyle mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden. Diggins held off a closing chase pack to secure fourth place. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)
“I knew it was a little bit risky, but I was trying to hang with that lead group as long as I could,” Diggins said.
As long as she could turned into more than half the race as she trailed Johaug by just 3.6 seconds at 5 k.
“In a mass start, I’ve never been in this position before, it was so exciting,” Diggins said.
Although she was in contention for a podium at 5 k, she soon realized the effort wasn’t sustainable and decided to cut her losses.
“I was totally pegged, I was going as hard as I possibly could,” she recalled. “I thought I could try to hold on to Therese and Heidi but then I might blow up and lose twenty spots, but if I can race smart I could for sure get top five.”
Keeping her position meant holding off a charging chase pack of 15 skiers who were able to draft each other. Despite this advantage, Diggins was confident she could hold them.
“I wasn’t too concerned because the last couple kilometers are my strength and I usually close down a race hard,” she said. “I felt like I would be able to hold it, but still it was still motivating and I knew I just couldn’t make a mistake.”
U.S. Women’s Coach Matt Whitcomb commended Diggins’ gutsy racing.
“She gave herself a chance to win today, she believed that she could, and she did everything she could and fell just shy,” he said on the phone “But this is the kind of approach to racing that we just love to see — aggressive and full of the belief that she could make it happen.”
For Diggins, Falun remains one of her favorite places to race. “I’m so happy — I love racing here, the crowds are great, the atmosphere is fun, and I had wonderful skis,” she said.
In a World Cup schedule with few mass starts, Falun was the first freestyle mass start of the season so far. Although Diggins still considers individual starts to be her favorite format because it is just “you, your mind and the course,” she considers mass starts a fun change and a great learning opportunity.
“In some ways, it was more fun to ski it with other people because you can see where the leaders are and you can see where they are putting time on you,” she said. “It is a really good way to learn about your style of racing and how that fits into the field.”
Stephen Navigates Mass Start for Season Best
Although there are advantages to the immediate feedback in mass starts, they can also pose challenges for skiers starting farther in the back in the field. The congestion on the course presents frustrating, but surmountable challenges for skiers like Stephen.
Starting in the middle of the field in bib 23, Stephen had to navigate the field on a narrow course and look for openings. However, when the field opened up, Stephen delivered as she moved from 21st place at 5 k to finish in 14th for her best World Cup result this season.
“It is really good to see Liz looking like herself again,” Whitcomb said. “I think had today been an interval start race, you would have seen a really impressive result out of Liz. She struggled a bit with a later start, getting swallowed up, the course is a little bit narrow and she spent a lot of time waiting for an opening.”
“Today was a really good feeling to leave Europe on and take home with me to prepare for Canada. I had the best energy I have felt all year today,” Stephen said in a USSA press release.
Patterson in the points
Another highlight for the Americans included Patterson’s 25th place, her first World Cup top 30 and best result since placing 36th in the Holmenkollen 30 k classic mass start last weekend.
“We are really excited for that,” Whitcomb said. “In many ways, that is one of the real successes of the day when you see a new athlete score her first World Cup points. It’s not even one point, it is a handful of them with a really solid 25th place.”
Patterson’s aggressive start paid off as she was able to establish a position in the top 20 within the first three kilometers. “My game plan was to start fast and aggressively, always on the offensive to move up rather than getting shuffled back, cling onto packs or other skiers whenever possible, and ski efficiently but not afraid to push hard,” explained Patterson.
“I was actually astonished to find that the pace up the Morderbakken the first time seemed within reason, I could hold with people, and actually even still see Johaug way up ahead, which was exciting!” Patterson said.
The depth of the U.S. women’s field has been illustrated this year as Patterson was the seventh women this year to score points in a distance race. This is a testament to the progress of the U.S. women’s cross country skiing and bodes well for the future.
As Patterson shared, “I think now that I’m over here in Europe, it helps that I have trained with Ida, and with other USST women at fall camps, and to have seen that my fitness is close to theirs in training sessions, to help me convince myself that if I can ski with them, and they can ski with the best in the world, then maybe I can ski with the best in the world too.”
Rosie Brennan and Ida Sargent also represented the U.S., taking 48th (+2:05.4) and 67th (+3:26.3), respectively.
Canada’s Emily Nishikawa racing to 39th in the 10 k freestyle mass start at Sunday’s World Cup in Falun, Sweden.(Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Canadian Emily Nishikawa was 14 seconds out of the points in 39th (+1:34.9) and Andrea Dupont (Rocky Mountain Racers) placed 69th (+3:46.5).
“The pack with the top 30 was just over 10 seconds ahead of me on the last lap, so it was a little frustrating that I didn’t have a little bit more in me to push and bridge up to that group,” Nishikawa wrote in an email. “Overall, it was much better than yesterday [in the 5 k classic], and I’m looking forward to going home to recharge before the Ski tour Canada where I hope to have my best races of the season.”
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![Norway's 25-year-old Emil Iversen celebrates his first win of the season on Sunday in the men's 30 k classic mass start, which he won by 3.7 seconds over fellow Norwegian Martin Johnsrud Sundby. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Iversen29117fm0011.jpg")
![Emil Iversen leading fellow Norwegian Martin Johnsrud Sundby in the men's 30 k classic mass start on Sunday at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Group29117fm0134.jpg")
![Norway's Emil Iversen double poling to a decisive victory on Sunday, ahead of Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby (yellow bib) and Sweden's Calle Halfvarsson (in white) in the World Cup men's 30 k classic mass start in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Iversen29117fm0007.jpg")
![Canada's Alex Harvey (3) during the World Cup men's 30 k classic mass start in Falun, Sweden. He finished 15th. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Harvey29117fm0139.jpg")
![Canada's Alex Harvey finishing 15th in the World Cup men's 30 k classic mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Harvey29117fm0152.jpg")
![American Matt Gelso racing to 59th in his first-ever World Cup sprint on Saturday in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Gelso28117fm0192-1.jpg")
![Norway's Marit Bjørgen celebrates her 105th individual World Cup win after she crosses first in the women's 15-kilometer classic mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Bjoergen29117fm0022-e1485731409626.jpg")
![Right to left: Norway's Marit Bjørgen leading her teammates Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and Heidi Weng during the women's 15-kilometer classic mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Group29117fm0246-e1485731093475.jpg")
![Left to right: Norway's Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Marit Bjørgen and Heidi Weng celebrate an all-Norwegian podium in the women's 15-kilometer classic mass start on Sunday at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Group29117fm0027-e1485731016332.jpg")
![American Caitlin Patterson (33) and Canadian Cendrine Browne (45) racing the women's 15-kilometer classic mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden, along with Germany's Elisabeth Schicho (38) and Italy's Giulia Stuerz (25). (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Group29117fm0253-e1485731188720.jpg")
![Italy's Federico Pellegrino (r) edging Norway's Emil Iversen in Saturday's freestyle sprint final at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Group28117fm0199.jpg")
![The men's freestyle sprint podium on Saturday at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden, with Italian winner Federico Pellegrino (c), and Norway's Emil Iversen (r) in second and Sindre Bjørnestad Skar (l) in third. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Group28117fm0204.jpg")
![Len Valjas (Canadian World Cup Team) racing in Saturday's freestyle sprint at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden, where he ended up 10th on the day. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Valjas28117fm0384.jpg")
![Simi Hamilton (U.S. Ski Team) racing to 13th in the men's qualifier of the 1.4 k freestyle sprint on Saturday at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. He went on to place 18th on the day. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Hamilton28117fm0112.jpg")
![Andy Newell (U.S. Ski Team) racing to 25th in the men's qualifier of the World Cup freestyle sprint in Falun, Sweden. He ended up 16th on the day.(Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Newell28117fm0157.jpg")
![Sweden's Stina Nilsson celebrates her second-straight World Cup sprint victory on Saturday after winning the 1.4 k freestyle sprint at home in Falun, Sweden.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Screen-Shot-2017-01-28-at-2.40.40-PM.png")
![The men's pursuit podium at 2017 IBU Open European Championships on Saturday in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland, with Russia's Alexander Loginov (c) in first, Evgeniy Garanichev (l) in second, and Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs (r) in third. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/jpg-5.jpeg")
![Norway's Therese Johaug celebrates her 14th World Cup victory in the 10 k freestyle mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden. Johaug led her teammates Heidi Weng and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in a Norwegian podium sweep and American Jessie Diggins placed fourth. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/Johaug160214mf043.jpg")
![Therese Johaug (r) leads Norwegian teammate Heidi Weng during the women's 10 k freestyle mass start at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. The duo went on to place first and second, respectively. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/Group160214mf032.jpg")
![Jessie Diggins charges to the finish of the World Cup 10 k freestyle mass start on Sunday in Falun, Sweden. Diggins held off a closing chase pack to secure fourth place. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/Diggins160214mf046.jpg")
![Emily Nishikawa of Canada skis to 39th place in the Falun mass start skate event (Photo credit: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/Nishikawa160214mf039.jpg")