After officially canceling the World Cup Finals scheduled for Tyumen, Russia on February 25th the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced in a brief press release today (see below) that no replacement venue has been found, and thus the upcoming three-day race weekend in Falun, Sweden will instead absorb the event, ending the season one week prematurely.
No schedule changes have been made to the event in Falun, leaving a classic sprint, a 10/15-kilometer skate, and two new mixed gender events, a relay and a team sprint, left to conclude the 2021/22 race season.
The cancellation of the final weekend of World Cup racing solidifies Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR) as the 2021/22 World Cup overall winner. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In terms of overall athlete rankings, these mixed events are not World Cup point scoring opportunities. This means a maximum of 300 World Cup points remain on the table following this weekend’s races at the Holmenkollen, assuming the point-schedule planned for the World Cup Finals is applied to the race weekend in Falun: 50 points each for the individual sprint and distance races, plus a maximum of 200 bonus points for the overall winner of the weekend. It has not yet been made clear how the mixed relay and team sprint will factor into determining the overall winner of this year’s World Cup Finals for men and women.
As such, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR) will win the men’s overall World Cup given his margin of greater than 400 points to the next competitor. In the women’s standings, Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) currently stands 252 points ahead of Jessie Diggins, and 285 points ahead of Ebba Andersson (SWE). As the Russian team has been banned from remaining competitions, Nepryaeva has no further opportunities to increase her point totals, instead waiting for the outcome of the remaining World Cup events to decide her fate.
Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist leads the sprint standings by 155 points over Anamarija Lampic (SLO), while Klæbo leads the men’s standings by 95 points over Richard Jouve of France. While these standings will not change given there is one event remaining worth just 50 points, the distance standings are less certain.
Heading into the 30/50 k races at the Holmenkollen in Oslo, NOR, this weekend, Therese Johaug leads the women’s distance standings by 17 points ahead of Frida Karlsson and 107 points to Andersson, both of Sweden. Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) leads the men’s distance standings by 5 points ahead of Klæbo, who may not compete again this season as he recently tested positive for COVID. Next is Iivo Niskanen of Finland, a favorite for this weekend’s 50 k classic, sitting 84 points back.
Natalia Nepryaeva celebrates her win of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski, helping land her atop the overall World Cup standings. (Photo: NordicFocus)
World Cup racing resumes tomorrow with the women’s 30 k classic, followed by the men’s 50 k classic on Sunday. Stay tuned for FasterSkier’s coverage of these races.
(Press Release) FIS Cross-Country World Cup finals to take place in Falun (SWE)
FIS Cross-Country together with various National Ski Federations evaluated a possible replacement of the cancelled World Cup event of Tyumen (RUS). Despite big efforts and interest of various National Ski Federations, no replacement for the World Cup final events was found.
This means that the scheduled World Cup event in Falun (SWE) from 11th to 13th March 2022 will be the final events of the FIS Cross-Country season 2021/22. The schedule will not be adjusted and follow the originally planned competition formats.
Click here for the Falun World Cup weekend schedule.
Hailey Swirbul races through the snow-capped pines of Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.
An iconic venue, Lahti’s ski jumps rise out of the pine forest from atop the rolling hills, tucked between the many lakes of the region in southern Finland. After two years of empty trails and stadiums, horns blazed, cowbells rang, and voices cheered during the women’s 10-kilometer individual start classic race as fans lined the hills and filled the stadium, memories of pre-pandemic racing flooded back into mind.
What has remained constant through the last two years is the presence of Norway’s Therese Johaug at the top of the results sheet in distance races, particularly classic. Johaug started as the final athlete in the seeded group wearing bib 60, meaning she would have information available to her from the start on how hard she would
A little over halfway through the first of two 5 k laps, it looked like Johaug would run away with yet another World Cup distance race. At the 3.7 time check, Johaug was 11.7 seconds up on Natalia Nepyraeva of Russia who had clocked the fastest prior split, with the Finnish Olympic bronze and silver medalists, Krista Pärmäkoski and Kerttu Niskanen, lurking just behind at 16.2 and 17.5 seconds back. And the Finns were racing on home soil with most of the aforementioned fans waving their country’s flag.
Norway’s Therese Johaug races the 10 k interval start classic in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sure enough, the margin of Johaug’s lead narrowed. At the lap, she was just under ten seconds ahead of Nepryaeva, who looked to have conserved her energy in the first lap to push the pace in the second. While the Finns became less of a threat to Johaug, the Norwegian’s margin over the Russian’s splits whittled down rapidly.
And ironically, the Russian’s fast second lap might have been partly Johaug’s own doing. As the Norwegian had headed out on course, Nepryaeva was lapping through the stadium, allowing her to match pace as she chased the high-tempo Norwegian through the woods for the second 5 k, perhaps pressuring Johaug to burn a few of her matches a bit earlier than she’d otherwise planned.
Regardless of what was going through each athlete’s mind, Nepryaeva finished her second lap to set the bar at 24:29.6.
Over the first kilometer of Johaug’s second lap, now racing on her own, the time difference between the two women was slashed in half, from 9.8 to 4.8 seconds, and at 8.7 k, it had essentially remained constant at 5.5 seconds. It would come down to the wire.
Looking back at the season, it might be easy to focus on the three Olympic gold medals Johaug won in Zhangjiakou, including in the 10 k classic event. But, she had been beaten in the only other 10 k classic she’s raced on the World Cup this year, which also took place in Finland, during the opening weekend of World Cup racing in Ruka. She might be the favorite, but she’s also beatable.
Natalia Nepryaeva puts together a strong performance in the 10 k classic in Lahti. (Photo: NordicFocus)
As Nepryaeva watched the clock eagerly from the leader’s chair, Johaug kicked, glided, and double poled through the final kilometer. Having over ten minutes prior, she had plenty of time to wait, watch, and be watched by the cameras.
Nepryaeva leaned forward, not taking her eyes off the leaderboard as Johaug made the tight right-hand turn down into the stadium without losing too much momentum, and began to charge as hard as she could toward the line.
With 15 seconds remaining to stay inside Nepryaeva’s mark, Johaug rounded the corner to the finish. With ten seconds to go, she hit the lanes. Nepryaeva watched the seconds tick by hoping Johaug’s time would change to red, while the Norwegian was just trying to keep it in the green.
Therese Johaug (NOR) throws her boot to take the win just 1.2 seconds ahead of Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva. (Photo: NordicFocus)Therese Johaug (NOR) celebrates her victory in Lahti’s 10 k individual start classic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Until the actual finish line was crossed, it felt like the result could go either way. But with a final push from her poles and kick with her boot, Therese Johaug sealed the deal, just 1.2 seconds ahead of Natalia Nepryaeva. Johaug let out a victorious roar, just before cameras showed the Russian roll her eyes in exasperation, as if thinking, “Really? Not again.”
Cameras panning back to Johaug watched her shift away from her own celebration to comfort a very disappointed Heidi Weng, who had started a minute ahead of Johaug in bib 58, but finished 42 seconds behind her teammate in 19th place (+1:42.4). After promising results in the Tour de Ski, Weng had tested positive for COVID just prior to the Olympics, leaving her watching the event from afar. From Weng’s disappointment at the finish, it looked as though she had been looking for more in her return to racing on the World Cup.
Therese Johaug (NOR) comforts her disappointed teammate Heidi Weng at the finish of the 10 k individual start classic in Lahti. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Johaug spoke with FIS after the finish, speaking to what it means to win again today as she nears the end of a successful season, including the three gold medals earned in Zhangjiakou this month.
“It means a lot for me, and I am so happy that I have a second on my side,” Johaug said with a laugh. “After the Olympics, you’re coming home and it’s a little bit hard to motivate again, but when I come to Lahti and go on this beautiful track, I really enjoy it.”
Johaug was also asked whether she felt the benefits of having trained and raced at altitude surrounding the Games, which were held at roughly 5,500 feet above sea level.
“Yeah, I feel that,” Johaug said of the boost. “When you train a lot at altitude and then you go down, you feel like you have more energy in the hills. I think my shape right now is really good, so I’m excited to race at the Holmenkollen next weekend, and in Falun, then the rest of the season.”
The women’s podium in Lahti: Therese Johaug (NOR) took the win ahead of Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) and Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN). (Photo: NordicFocus)
Rounding out the women’s podium, Finland’s Pärmäkoski held her margin to 16.7 seconds at the finish for third place, followed after a gap by her teammate Niskanen in fourth (37.7). Sweden’s sprint champion Jonna Sundling was just behind in fifth (+40.7).
Leading the way for the American team, Rosie Brennan posted consistent splits to hover in sixth place through the first lap. Maintaining even tempo and effort, Brennan remained in this position until the last checkpoint, which showed a hard-charging Ebba Andersson of Sweden trade positions to bump Brennan back to 7th.
Rosie Brennan leads the American team during a 10 k individual start classic in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Also posting a split Brennan was not quite able to match in the final kilometer, the American lost nearly eight seconds to Germany’s Katharina Hennig between the final time check at 8.7 k and the finish, leaving Brennan in eighth place overall (+1:02.8) at the finish.
“I am really happy with today.,” Brennan wrote in a post-race email. “I have always struggled post-championships, not so much in my body, but in my mind. It’s really difficult to live on the road and be sharp and push so hard all the time. It often feels like there is never a chance to let down the way someone who goes home every week might experience. I am always trying to figure this out and work towards finding ways to let down and then pull the fight back up for the weekend. It’s all part of the game and it’s a good challenge to try to figure everything out.
“Anyway, today, I felt much more like myself and was able to ski the way I wanted to. Lahti has been a tough venue for me in the past and today I really felt strong in my classic skiing and had some ability to push hard. I was definitely frustrated after yesterday and am really happy I was able to let it go and find myself out there today. We have had really great weather this weekend and a big crowd so that was a huge bonus. It was a joy to not be skiing in an arctic tornado!”
Rosie Brennan crosses the line for 8th place in Lahti’s 10 k interval start classic. (Photo: NordicFocus)Jessie Diggins skis to 20th place in the 10 k classic in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Following a podium near-miss in yesterday’s sprint, Jessie Diggins was next for the U.S., just behind Heidi Weng in 20th (+1:43.4). Julia Kern and Hailey Swirbul also raced into the top-30 for the second day in a row, finishing 28th (+2:03.2) and 29th (+2:10.5), respectively.
Just off Swirbul’s split, Canada’s Katherine Stewart-Jones led her team in 30th place (+2:10.7), with her teammate Dahria Beatty just outside the top-30 in 33rd (+2:19.4). Cendrine Browne raced to 36th (+2:24.5), while Laura Leclair was the final Canadian woman in 58th (+4:29.7).
Canada’s Katherine Stewart-Jones leads her team in 30th during the 10 k individual start classic in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Finishing 30 seconds outside the top-30, Katharine Ogden returned to the World Cup in 43rd (+2:40.8).
Following the races, US Ski Team head coach Matt Whitcomb provided insights into both the women’s and men’s races in Lahti, as well as sharing the news that Östersund, SWE may become the host to the initially cancelled World Cup Finals that had been scheduled for Tyumen, Russia. Whitcomb also speaks to the “Olympic hangover” that can make hard for athletes to perform at their best the weekend following the Games, and gave a shoutout to the athletes racing at World Juniors in nearby Lygna.
World Cup racing continues on Thursday, March 3rd with a classic sprint in Drammen, Norway, just prior to the storied 30/50 k mass start classic races at the Holmenkollen in Oslo.
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.
Snapping back after a week away from racing, the World Cup resumed in wintery Lahti, Finland with a 1.6 kilometer freestyle sprint. The American women made their presence immediately known, landing three of five athletes in the top-five in qualification, with four in the top-30.
Rosie Brennan skis to fifth in qualification in Lahti. (Photo: NordicFocus)
On the heels of a bronze medal in the event, Jessie Diggins was second in qualification, +6.71 behind the time of 3:17.37 posted by Sweden’s Olympic champion Jonna Sundling. Julia Kern was next for the U.S. in fourth (+7.59) behind Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva, with Rosie Brennan just behind in fifth (+8.61). Hailey Swirbul also raced into the heats, skiing to 26th in qualification (+16.56).
Jessie Diggins posts the second fastest time in qualification during the freestyle sprint in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Leading the Canada team Cendrine Browne raced to 29th in qualification (+17.37), advancing to the heats.
Racing in heat five, Diggins moved to the front of the pack inside the first minute of racing, with Kern on her tails heading up the first climb, with Julia sliding back to third in the following descent. Nevertheless, the Americans maintained control of the heat heading up the climb and around the course’s hairpin turn, where cheers could be heard from the sidelines, urging “Alright, Jessie! Alright, Julia! Hard over the top! Hard over the top! Come on, push, push, push!”
Rounding the final bend to the finish, the Americans were side by side at the front, with Sweden’s Anna Divyk looking for an opportunity to sneak through from their draft. Kern was on the inside of the bend, stepping powerfully to maintain her momentum as the threesome headed into the final 100 meter sprint. Still right alongside her teammate, Kern led the boot throw to win the heat, with Diggins +0.1 back, and the Swede on their tails to cross the line +0.39 seconds back in third. As the fifth heat proved to be the fastest of the quarterfinal, Czech athlete Katerina Janatova also advanced as a lucky loser after finishing in fourth, just over a second behind Divyk.
Julia Kern and Jessie Diggins take to the course during the quarterfinals of Lahti’s freestyle sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In the first semifinal, it was Sundling and Dahlqvist at the front, with teammate Emma Ribom and Nepryaeva jockeying for the third and fourth positions through the first half. The Swedes rounded the hairpin in first through third, but Nepryaeva, Nadine Fähndrich (SUI), and Janatova remained close on their heels. Coming into the finish lanes, it was Sundling in front, with Ribom nipping Dahlqvist at the line by 0.11 seconds. Nepryaeva crossed fourth, 0.6 back from Dahlqvist, leaving the two awaiting the outcome of the next semi to determine their fate heading into the final round.
The Americans raced in the second semi, along with an additional two Swedes, Divyk and Johanna Hagström, plus Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampic and a German, Coletta Rydzek.
Julia Kern tucks into Jessie Diggins draft during the freestyle sprint heats in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Heading up the climb to the hairpin, it was Diggins at the front, with Hagström on her tails and Lampic maintaining contact. The group had thinned, leaving the remaining three women trailing behind on the descent with a gap between each.
In the adrenaline-filled final meters, it looked like Hagström would hold the advantage to the line, but a high tempo Diggins and accelerating Lampic were closing fast. Throwing their boots three abreast, the women crossed the line dead-even for a three-way photo finish.
A slow motion replay of the slide showed that it was Lampic who crossed first, with Diggins .03 seconds behind, and Hagström in third, separated by an additional 0.01 second. With Lampic’s time clocked roughly 0.7 seconds slower than Nepryaeva’s in the first semi, only the top two women advanced, leaving Hagström just off the mark.
Kern crossed fourth in the heat (+1.94) to end her day in eighth overall.
“Today was a lot of fun,” Kern said in a U.S. Ski & Snowboard press release. “The conditions were great, the stadium and course were filled with lively spectators and I was really excited to get back to racing the World Cup! I felt like I had a lot of great energy today, skied well, and enjoyed the awesome atmosphere while racing side-by-side with Jessie in the heats! I was stoked to put down maybe my best World Cup qualifier and see that my body is ready to fire after the Olympics.
“I have only raced two races in the last two months,” Kern continued, “so I have been excited for Period 4 World Cups with lots of racing opportunities. I am someone who loves to race. I had a blast skiing with Jessie in the heats today, we train together all year long, working hard and pushing each other, and also rooming together, so it is fun to ski well together and take charge of the heats. ”
Julia Kern races to eighth place in Lahti’s freestyle sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sundling looked to leave nothing to chance in the final, gapping the field before the halfway point, with Lampic and Ribom leading the chase group a few seconds back.
Descending from the hairpin, the Swedes were in first through third, with Sundling still well off the front. Diggins had moved up onto Dahlqvist’s tails in fourth, which she held heading around the final bend into the stadium and into the lanes.
Jonna Sundling (SWE) cruises through the final to win the 1.6 kilometer freestyle sprint in Lahti. (Photo: NordicFocus)
While Sundling cruised cross the line for the win in 3:12.86, it was Ribom and Dalqvist fighting for the second and third spots to determine the order of a Swedish podium sweep. It was Ribom in second at the line (+3.28), fending off Dahlqvist in third (+3.67), interrupting her streak of World Cup wins this season.
Diggins held her ground close behind the Swedes in fourth (+3.93), with Lampic closing fast for fifth (+4.01). Nepryaeva closed out the women’s final in the sixth spot (+4.69).
Jessie Diggins throws her boot for fourth in the final round of Lahti’s freestyle sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Following the race, Diggins said she was happy to be feeling like herself again following the brief post-Olympic break. It was just six days ago that Diggins fought through food poisoning induced fatigue, cramping, and delirium to earn a silver medal in the 30 k skate.
“I was incredibly tired after the Olympics,” Diggins said in a post-race audio clip, embedded below. “That 30 k took more out of me than maybe any race in my entire life. So I was just feeling lucky to be out there and racing and able to feel like my body is back.”
In addition to providing insights into how things shook our for her, Diggins commented on the experience of watching newer members of the team earn their first World Cup starts, specifically Lauren Jortberg, Bill Harmeyer, and Logan Diekmann.
“Happy to be part of that rite of passage. That was really, really fun.”
Sweden’s Jonna Sundling hugs Emma Ribom (right) after finishing one-two in the freestyle sprint in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“I feel amazing right now,” Sundling said of her win in a post-race interview with FIS at the finish. “I think I’m in a good place in my career and it feels really good to ski right now. Today, I just tried to trust my skiing and it went really [well], so I’m happy.”
When asked about the Swedish podium sweep, Sundling broke into a wide grin. “I’m so happy, and for Emma, it is her first, so it’s really good.”
A Swedish podium sweep in Lahti, with Jonna Sundling taking the top spot ahead of Emma Ribom and Maja Dahlqvist. (Photo: NordicFocus)Rosie Brennan races in the fourth quarterfinal heat in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
After sharing the lead with Slovenia’s Lampic through the second half of the fourth quarterfinal, Brennan rounded the final bend into the finish in second position, moving to Lampic’s right with 50 meters to go. While Lampic maintained a lead by several meters, Germany’s Rydzek crept up alongside Brennan, throwing her boot at the line to edge out the American by 0.04 seconds. As the third heat saw times roughly four seconds faster than the fourth, Brennan was unable to advance as a lucky loser and ended her day in 13th.
Crossing in sixth in heat one of the quarterfinal, which saw Sundling and Nepryaeva go one-two, Swirbul finished 28th today. Swirbul maintained contact with the lead pack through the hairpin turn, where Sundling and Nepryaeva accelerated off the front to thin the pack.
Hailey Swirbul races in the first quarterfinal heat in Lahti. (Photo: NordicFocus)Cendrine Browne (CAN) races in the second heat of the quarterfinals in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Canada’s Browne also ended her day in the quarters after racing in heat two. Browne was +2.19 behind Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist who comfortably won the heat, with the Canadian in sixth to end her day in
Also racing for the U.S., BSF Pro Team’s Lauren Jortberg raced was pulled up from the SuperTour for her first World Cup appearance. Jortberg is ranked 11th overall in the SuperTour standings and is third on the sprint list behind APU’s Rosie Frankowski and Becca Rorabaugh, both of whom opted to race the American Birkie this weekend.
Lauren Jortberg (BSF Pro) makes her first World Cup appearance in the 1.6 k freestyle sprint qualifier in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (CAN) races the 1.6 k freestyle sprint qualifier in Lahti, FIN. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Outside the top-30 for Canada, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt was 33rd today, less than a second away from the heats, with her teammate Dahria Beatty just 0.25 seconds behind her in 34th. Laura Leclair was the final Canadian racer in the women’s field, finishing 54th in qualification (+25.41).
Women’s racing continues tomorrow in Lahti with a 10 k individual start classic.
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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 team sprint: two skiers racing three laps each at roughly 1.5-kilometers a piece with a long climb thrown into the middle of the course and temperatures in the single digits Fahrenheit. It boils a sport that already requires both power and endurance down to its essence.
Riding the high of their silver medal in the women’s 4 x 5 k relay, the duo from Germany, Katharina Hennig and Victoria Carl, won a thrilling sprint finish to decide the medals, collecting gold in a time of 22:09.85. To take the stop spot, the anchor, Carl, out-sprinted the Swedish individual freestyle sprint gold medalist, Jonna Sundling, in the final meters to win by just 0.17 seconds, while the Russian Olympic Committee’s Natalia Nepryaeva crossed just behind in third (+0.71).
Sweden, Germany and Russia share the women’s classic team sprint podium. (Photo: NordicFocus)
After holding strong in medal contention throughout the first five of six laps, the American pair of Rosie Brennan and Jessie Diggins lost contact with the leaders in the final leg, crossing the line fifth (+12.93) behind Finland in fourth (+3.86).
Now, let’s take a step back.
There is, perhaps, no reminder needed that USA won the team sprint in 2018; Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins collected the first Olympic medal for the United States in cross country skiing – a gold, no less – since Bill Koch took silver in the 30 k classic in 1976. However, the team sprint in PyeongChang was raced freestyle, whereas today’s team sprint would be held in classic.
“I’m not trying to compare today to four years ago,” said Diggins in the mixed zone after the race. “It’s a different course, different altitude, different technique, like literally nothing is the same and, and that’s okay. I think today, I was going out there and skiing for Rosie and skiing as hard as I could and as best I could… but I’m really proud of this race and proud of giving it our best fight.”
Rosie Brennan helps the Americans finish second in the first team sprint semifinal, automatically advancing to the final. (Photo: NordicFocus)
We have to look back eight years for a classic team sprint at the Olympic Winter Games, to the 2014 Games in Sochi. Norway took the gold that day in dominant fashion ahead of Finland and Sweden, who were stretched behind by roughly ten seconds a piece. Only one of the six women on the podium returned to the Games in 2022, again making the team sprint roster: Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen. The American pairing of Sophie Caldwell (now Hamilton) and Kikkan Randall were sixth in Sochi, +35.06 back on the Norwegian winners.
In the intermediate FIS World Championships, the Americans finished fifth both years, racing Brennan and Sadie Bjornsen (now Maubet) in the freestyle competition in Oberstdorf, Germany in 2021, and pairing Bjornsen with Diggins for the classic team sprint in Seefeld, Austria in 2019. In Oberstdorf, the Americans missed the podium by roughly 2.2 seconds, finishing 2.8 seconds behind the winning team from Sweden. In 2021, they missed the podium by an equivalent margin, this time finishing 5.8 seconds back in the overall standings, again to Sweden. It’s a mark of consistency and depth across techniques for the American women.
Yulia Stupak (ROC), Kerttu Niskanen (FIN), and Katerina Janatova (CZE) lead the way early in the women’s classic team sprint semifinal. (Photo: NordicFocus)
To make the team sprint final, each team must finish in the top-two of semifinal A or B, or be within the next six fastest times from either heat. The U.S. was second to Germany (+4.03) in Semifinal A, while the ROC won the second semi in a close finish with Finland in second (+0.35) and Sweden third (+1.0). Austria and Switzerland also advanced from the first semi, with Sweden, Norway, France, and Poland filling the remaining spots from semifinal B.
With bursts of frozen mist released from their mouths, the athletes took to the course for the final round, with Yulia Stupak (ROC), Maja Dahlqvist (SWE), Kerttu Niskanen (FIN), Tiril Udnes Weng (NOR), and Katharina Hennig (GER) racing with Brennan at the front of the pack.
With a hooded parka draped over her, face tape obscuring her normally glittery cheekbones, and heated socks inside her boots, Diggins waited in the exchange for the tag. She would be facing Natalia Nepryaeva (ROC), Jonna Sundling (SWE), Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN), Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR), and Victoria Carl (GER) in the even-numbered legs.
Racing comfortably near the front with skis that looked competitive for both kick and glide, Brennan tagged Diggins +1.1 second back on Finland in fourth, well within the lead group. In what would become a pattern for her first two legs, Diggins quickly moved to the front to control the race and ensure a fast pace, perhaps risking accumulating her own fatigue while also taking the sting out of the legs of the individual sprint gold and silver medalists of Sweden, who had also won the World Championship gold in 2021.
Diggins races at the front of the lead pack during the classic team sprint final. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Diggins tagged Brennan virtually even with Sweden and Finland after her first lap, a position Brennan was able to hold through her second leg. Near the bottom of the long, grinding climb to the high point of the course, Norway’s Weng wobbled slightly, placing her pole in front of Dahlqvist’s ski to catch her balance. Weng’s pole snapped, leaving her running up the sidelines of the climb with one pole, detaching her strap to grab another from a coach who stood along the fenceline. This lost Norway several seconds, which they were unable to regain in subsequent legs, leaving the team out of podium contention.
On the odd legs, Niskanen of Finland consistently controlled the race at the front, putting the powerful stride that earned her a silver medal in the 10 k last week on display as she led up the climb in each round. She tagged her teammate Pärmäkoski in the lead at the halfway mark, with Germany, the ROC, and USA within a second back.
Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) sets the pace in the first lap of the women’s classic team sprint final. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Diggins again charged to the front, her hands and legs pumping metronomically as she drove her skis up the climb. Diggins crested the hill in front, with Sundling and Pärmäkoski on her tails heading into the descent. A gap had opened to Germany and the ROC, but these teams had lightning fast glide and were able to regain contact in the descent.
At 6 k, with four of six legs complete, it was Sweden and Finland in the lead at the exchange, with Brennan receiving a tag 2.5 seconds back. Niskanen again set the pace at the front, still looking strong as she pushed the pace up the A-climb, with Dahlqvist matching pace behind. In a critical moment where loss of contact might have meant accepting a podium was not in the cards on the day, Brennan accelerated up the climb, steadily closing the gap to the Swede ahead of her.
Rosie Brennan (USA) awaits her turn during the women’s team sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
An aerial shot showed Brennan upping her tempo as she brought the U.S. back in contact with the leaders, bringing Hennig and Stupak along with her. All five women dropped into a tuck as they headed downhill together, rounding the sweeping right-hand bend and sprinting up a final climb before the last exchange. Throwing her hands up the hill in a run, Brennan challenged Sweden’s Dahlqvist on the final uphill, double poling around a left-hand bend into the exchange in third behind Germany and Finland.
In the last lap, Diggins went hunting. With Pärmäkoski and Carl leading the charge up the climb, Diggins would need to work the hill. Striding powerfully, Diggins did everything she could to keep her team in contact with the leaders, but it was not enough on the day. Doublepoling across the false flat before the descent, it was Pärmäkoski leading Carl, Nepryaeva, and Sundling.
The leaders were four abreast coming around the final bend, with Pärmäkoski and Sundling pushed into the outer two lanes, leaving them at a deficit as they headed up the final climb to the stadium.
Cresting the rise, Carl looked to be falling off the pace, while Nepryaeva and Sundling pulled to the front, the Swede leading around the final left-hand corner into the finish.
But Germany wasn’t done yet. Carl moved up along the outside of the bend, challenging Sundling as they headed into the finish lanes. Doublepoling powerfully, Carl began to slowly pull ahead of Sweden, with the ROC dropping back a few meters behind.
Coming to the line to decide the medals, it was Victoria Carl (GER), Natalia Nepryaeva (ROC), and Jonna Sundling (SWE) (l-r). (Photo: NordicFocus)
In a surprise upset of the Swedish favorites, Carl took it to the line, holding off Sundling as she crossed the line in 22:09.85, welcomed by her ecstatically screaming partner Hennig. Sundling was just 0.17 seconds back for silver, with Nepryaeva unopposed for bronze on their tails (+0.71).
Victoria Carl (GER) celebrates gold in the women’s team sprint while Natalia Nepryaeva brings the ROC across the line in third.(Photo: NordicFocus)VIctoria Carl takes gold in the classic team sprint, while partner Katharina Hennig awaits in disbelief. (Photo: NordicFocus)
After falling off the leaders in the final climb, Pärmäkoski brought Finland to the line in fourth (+3.86) with Diggins holding strong after a gap to cross fifth (+12.93).
“It means a lot for us,” Hennig told the media after her race. “Also the silver medal in relay and today the gold medal in team sprint. It means a lot and we are very thankful for the whole team. It’s very important for cross-country in Germany.”
Excitement was high at the finish of the women’s team sprint, as Victoria Carl narrowly took the win for Germany, racing with partner Katharina Hennig. (Photo: NordicFocus)Katharina Hennig hugs her exhausted teammate Victoria Carl at the finish of the women’s classic team sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Though she was the key player in the final lap, Carl was not originally on the start list. She was substituted for Katherine Sauerbrey, who had skied the first leg of the women’s relay on Saturday. German coach Peter Schlickenreider, who celebrated his 52nd birthday today, explained in the mixed zone that Saurbrey had made a “great decision” to let the team know that she was feeling fatigued and as though she may be getting sick.
From there, the calculus became: “Okay, you have a silver medal, you did a good race [in the relay], and we have prepared Victoria Carl, so she’s ready,” Schlickenreider explained. “So then let’s do the safe thing.”
He added that Germany had raced an athlete, Nicole Fessel, in the team sprint during the 2018 Games who was feeling sick, which proved to be a significant mistake as Fessel struggled with her health for the following three months, before ultimately ending her career. The coaches had vowed never to make this error again.
Jonna Sundling (SWE) congratulates Victoria Carl and Katharina Hennig on Germany’s gold medal in the classic team sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
On the performance of the German skis, which have allowed the team to excel throughout the Games, Schlickenreider explained that waxing has been a focus for the team over the last quadrennial.
“We worked really hard the last four years to get this good team. And I think that’s the main thing, that everybody’s working together so that the athlete and ski technicians were communicating quite well.”
Jessie Diggins (USA) comes to the line in fifth in the women’s team sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
After winning gold in the event, it’s easy to look at a fifth place finish as a disappointment for the American team. But observing the last five seasons, it remains a testament to the consistent strength of the American women’s program, the depth of the field racing at this level, and the fact that ultimately, an Olympic medal is viewed among the highest accomplishments an athlete can achieve purely because it requires the fortuitous coming together of infinitely many pieces to do so.
Both Brennan and Diggins stated with confidence that they were happy with their performances today, highlighting advances made in classic racing throughout the Games.
“I felt really good about my skiing today,” Brennan said. “I think it was one of my better classic races this week, so I’m really happy to put it together by the end of the Olympics. And I did what I could to stay in contact to give Jessie her best shot. And I’m happy with that.”
Rosie Brennan (USA) strides up the A-climb in the women’s team sprint semifinal. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“I’m really proud of how we skied,” Diggins affirmed. “It was so cool seeing Rosie just crushing, and I went as hard as I could. And there’s no doubt in my mind that I could not have possibly tried harder. I finished with zero sugars left and was dizzy and sick. And I’m currently wearing all the clothes of Team USA… I think we had great skis, or at least I definitely had the kick that I needed. I felt like, technically, this was some of my best classic skiing. And yeah, I’m just really proud of giving it our all because that’s all you can do.”
Jessie Diggins anchored the women’s classic team sprint to fifth. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In NBC’s broadcast, team sprint gold medalist turned analyst Kikkan Randall explained that the Americans knew that competitive skis would be a requirement to allow Brennan and Diggins to fight for a medal today.
Both athletes expressed that their skis were up to the task, particularly for A-climb, which is roughly 400 meters in length (a quarter mile) with nearly 100 feet of elevation gain. Ascending this three times each in the final, optimizing kick could be essential.
“I have to have enough kick, or else I really struggle,” Diggins explained. “So I definitely asked for an extra bump. In hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have but also, that’s on me. And I know that that’s what I need. I need to be able to get up the hill. And that was my biggest priority. And so I think having not enough kick would have made me lose more time.”
Jessie Diggins (USA) marks Victoria Carl (GER) during the women’s team sprint semifinal. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Both athletes confirmed that they would be racing the final event of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games on Sunday, the 30 k mass start freestyle, barring unforeseen changes. With one last opportunity to fight for medals, Brennan encapsulated the Americans’ outlook on the whirlwind of racing and Olympic hype.
“One thing that the US is really bad at is only caring about the Olympics,” Brennan said in the mixed zone. “But we’re racing and World Cups every weekend all winter long and World Championships on the [odd] years, so if you look at the results from all of those races, you know, this is in the ballpark. I wouldn’t say I had the world’s best races [here] and certainly not the world’s worst races. So it’s been a good experience and we will head straight back to the World Cup and keep fighting for more.”
Dahria Beatty (CAN) races in semifinal A during the women’s classic team sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Racing for Canada, Katherine Stewart-Jones and Dahria Beatty took sixth in the first semifinal and did not advance. They ended the day in 12th overall.
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.
A relay medal evaded the American women’s 4 x 5-kilometer team for another Olympic quadrennial today, as Hailey Swirbul, Rosie Brennan, Novie McCabe, and Jessie Diggins finished sixth, +1:28.2 behind the winners from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). Silver went to the German team, who finished +18.2 back on the ROC, while bronze went to Sweden (+19.7), who took Finland to the line, leaving them 0.5 shy of a medal in fourth.
The relay is seen as a testament to a program’s depth and breadth; with two classic and two skate legs, it’s not enough to have one or two podium-caliber skiers who are specialists in one technique or the other. A team needs to have four strong women who can compete at the top of the field, and the program must have the technical proficiency to maintain contact with the front as the race switches from classic to skate.
A glittery flag tattooed on her cheek, Hailey Swirbul warms up to lead the American 4 x 5 k relay team. (Photo: NordicFocus)
And, those four strong women need to have all the pieces come together on the day. “It’s really hard to have four people have an amazing day on the same day,” Brennan said after today’s race.
The American team has steadily become a medal contender in the event as the level of the program has continually elevated over the last four Olympic cycles.
In 2010, Kikkan Randall was the sole member of the relay team who was reaching the World Cup podium, as she raced alongside Caitlin Compton (now Gregg), Holly Brooks, and Morgan Arritola. The American women finished 11th in Vancouver, nearly +3:40 behind the Norwegian gold medal team, which was anchored by a young Therese Johaug.
Eight years ago in Sochi, a team of Jessie Diggins, Randall, Liz Stephen, and Sadie Bjornsen (now Maubet) pulled the team up to 7th, +2:30 behind the Swedish winners. Four years later in PyeongChang, Sophie Caldwell, Bjornsen, Randall, and Diggins again brought Team USA 70 seconds closer to the podium, finishing fifth, +1:20 behind Norway.
Over the last three World Championships, the Americans finished fourth in 2017, 30 seconds behind the Finnish bronze medal team, and fifth in 2019, one minute behind Russia in third.
At the 2021 World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, the Americans were impossibly close to the podium. In a final sprint between anchors Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN) and Diggins, the Finn closed hard in the final kilometer to pull ahead of the Americans, taking bronze by just 0.8 seconds.
While only one of the four relay team members from the 2018 Olympic team remains on the team in 2022, three of the four members from last year’s World Championships made today’s list. That lineup was Swirbul, Bjornsen, Brennan, and Diggins.
Hailey Swirbul heads out to lead the American 4 x 5 k relay during the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Today, Swirbul would again lead the Americans skiing the first classic leg, this time followed by Brennan, who was 13th in the 10 k classic on Thursday. McCabe skated the third leg in her second Olympic appearance, tagging off to Diggins as the anchor.
Keeping with tradition, all four women – along with current NBC analyst Randall calling from a booth in Connecticut – wore knee-length striped “relay socks”, with beglittered cheekbones to feed their enthusiasm for the event. In a program that remains focused on team, even when standing on an individual podium, glitter and socks are merely symbols of the cohesion that has fostered the American’s rise to success.
The ROC’s Yulia Stupak pulls away in the first lap of the women’s 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
As the first two-lap 5 k classic leg took to the course, the ROC’s Yulia Stupak charged off the front, creating a 12 second gap by the end of the first lap while the next eight team remaining tightly spread, with less than three seconds of separation. In the final kilometer of the first leg, the German team dropped the chase pack to tag its second skier just 1.5 seconds behind the ROC. Masako Ishida tagged off in third for Japan, with Finland just behind in fourth, and Sweden a few seconds behind in fifth.
Swirbul tagged off for the Americans in seventh, +24.7 back on the ROC and Germany, and +12.4 seconds on the podium chase pack. The Canadian team, led by Katharine Stewart-Jones, tagged off in 10th (+43.2).
Katharine Stewart-Jones skis the opening leg of the women’s 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The Germans are often a dark horse in the relay, despite frequenting individual World Cup podiums less often than other countries like Norway, Russia, or Sweden. Germany won a silver medal in the women’s relay in the 2010 Games in Vancouver, followed by a bronze in Sochi. They were roughly 20 seconds behind the Americans in fifth at the 2021 World Championships, and 20 seconds ahead of the Americans in fourth place in 2019.
In this Games, two of the four members of the 2021 World Championships team were again in the lineup, Victoria Carl and Katharina Hennig, both of whom have seen top-10 finishes in the Games so far. Hennig, who would ski the second classic leg, was fifth in the 10 k classic on Thursday, while the third leg skater Carl was 10th in Tuesday’s freestyle sprint. Anchor Sofie Krehl was 8th in qualification and 11th in the final during the freestyle sprint, while classic opener Katharine Sauerbrey was 11th in the 10 k classic and 13th in the 15 k skiathlon. A deceptively stacked lineup.
Meanwhile, Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng had tangled with a Latvian skier, causing a crash that robbed her momentum. Already at a deficit with two of their eight athletes, including Lillehammer World Cup relay team member Heidi Weng, waylaid due to positive COVID tests just prior to the Games, the team that would otherwise be a podium threat faced yet another setback.
Katharina Hennig (GER) follows Natalia Nepryaeva (ROC) during the second leg of the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In the second classic leg, the ROC and Germany remained at the front, trading off in the lead at each checkpoint as they built their lead over third place to come through the exchange with nearly double the gap to third. This time, it was Germany’s Hennig in the lead, with the ROC’s Natalia Nepryaeva four seconds behind. Gold medalist in both distance events so far this Olympiad, Norway’s Therese Johaug brought her team back into podium contention, tagging Helene Marie Fossesholm in third (+22.8), just ahead of Sweden and Finland.
Norway’s Therese Johaug brings her team back into podium contention in the second leg of the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The Americans lost an additional 12 seconds over the course of Brennan’s leg, but held their ground in seventh (+36.4). Canada’s Dahria Beatty tagged teammate Cendrine Browne in eighth after a sizable gap (+1:42.7).
Rosie Brennan follows Sweden’s Ebba Andersson during the second leg of the women’s 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
While Germany and the ROC continued the story at the front, Norway and Finland began making up time on the leaders, with Fossesholm and Thursday’s 10 k classic silver medalist Kerttu Niskanen gaining roughly 8 seconds during the first skate leg. Norway was less than 15 seconds back at the final exchange, with Finland an additional three seconds behind. Sweden was in fifth, exactly 35 seconds off the leaders and just over 20 seconds behind Norway, but they were about to prove they were not out of the running.
Novie McCabe skates a strong third leg for Team USA in the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
McCabe had brought the Americans into sixth (+1:34), in a dead zone with 30 seconds to the next racer on either side. The Canadian women tagged off in 8th, +2:21.2 back on the leaders.
In the final leg, the ROC’s Veronika Stepanova quickly began to reel in Germany’s Krehl.
Establishing herself as a strong closer at just 21 years of age, Stepanova also anchored Russia’s winning relay team in Lillehammer back in December to a thrilling finish, narrowly beating Norway and Sweden in a three-way sprint to the line.
In the lead at the final exchange, Germany’s Victoria Carl tags Sofie Krehl during the Olympic 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)Tatiana Sorina tags Veronika Stepanova as the ROC chases down Germany in the final lap of the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This time, it did not look as if the ROC was looking for a climactic ending for its spectators. Stepanova had Krehl in her sights at the lap, and was now just 1.5 seconds behind. Stepanova kept the effort high, leaving the German five seconds back a kilometer later.
Then, Krehl began to fade rapidly.
As the ROC soon looked to have the gold medal on lock, the question became whether Germany could hold onto silver. Sweden’s sprint gold medalist Jonna Sundling was showing her stamina against Pärmäkoski, who looked to be repeating the approach that allowed her to take bronze for Finland in the 2021 World Championship where she was facing Diggins.
The pace stayed hot as the Finnish veteran steadily fatigued the legs of the sprint champion, and over the final lap, the pair brought Krehl into contact. Heading into the stadium, Krehl was hanging onto her lead by a thread.
Sofie Krehl hangs on to anchor the German team to silver in the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Cameras panned away as the German rounded the final bend into the stadium, returning just as she crossed the line, only ten meters ahead of Sundling and Pärmäkoski, who V2ed side by side through the lanes.
Ultimately, Sundlings sprint prowess gave Sweden the advantage, as she nipped Pärmäkoski by 0.5 seconds at the line for the bronze medal.
Jonna Sundling (SWE) takes bronze by 0.5 seconds ahead of Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN). (Photo: NordicFocus)
It was the ROC for gold in 53:41.0, with Germany in second (+18.2), and Sweden third (+20.7).
“Of course, it is a special day,” Stepanova told the media after the race. “It was really tough because we have a win in the World Cup, and a lot of people know we can win, so they say, ‘You must win, you must win.’ So I am like, ‘OK, we need a good result,’ and I do what I can do.”
Veronika Stepanova anchors the ROC to gold in the women’s 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)The Russian Olympic Committee celebrates gold in the women’s 4 x 5 k relay as anchor Veronika Stepanova crosses the line with a solid lead. (Photo: NordicFocus)
While the depth of its women’s team made the ROC a good choice as a podium pick, Stupak made it clear in her post-race comment that the team had also been targeting the event, saying the result was “not a shock.”
“We prepared for this race the whole year,” she explained. “It’s a good result for everybody in our team. We were ready for this medal.”
On the ROC’s approach and early lead, Stupak continued, “We tried to push the limit. We had big motivation and good concentration before the start. It was a hard race but it was a good race for us.”
The 4 x 5 k relay gold medalists of the ROC: Yulia Stupak, Natalia Nepryaeva, Tatiana Sorina, and Veronika Stepanova (l-r). (Photo: NordicFocus)
For the Germans, the tone implied less certainty that a medal would be earned. Rather, it was the culmination of strategic pacing and hard work, leading to what Krehl called a “surprise” ending.
“We are so happy and excited,” Hennig said. “This is a special day for us and we are so thankful that all the hard work pays off now for the whole team and all of cross-country Germany. So we are very, very happy. We had a good plan and our plan worked. And we did our best, and so it was an exciting and amazing day.”
The German team welcomes anchor Sofie Krehl to the finish, earning a silver medal in the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)Caught by the emotion of earning a silver medal for Germany, Sofie Krehl is embraced by her coach at the finish of the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Krehl explained that she had skied her first lap defensively, expecting Stepanova to catch her sooner. In the second lap, she described the ROC athlete as “too good”, causing her to let go of gold. Though she was nervous when she began to feel Sweden and Finland closing on her, she was able to hold on for a result she described as “good for the whole team”, including the German coaches and wax technicians.
“It’s a lot of emotion,” Krehl said. “It feels like a dream. Maybe I need some time and then I can recognize what we have done.”
Putting together a gutsy performance, Katherine Sauerbrey, Katharina Hennig, Victoria Carl, and Sofie Krehl (l-r) earn silver for Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)The Swedist team of Maja Dahlqvist, Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson, and Jonna Sundling (l-r) earn silver in the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Behind the podium contenders, Norway had lost contact with the Swedes and the Finns over the final lap, fading to fifth (+28.8). Racing alone through her lap, Diggins crossed the line for Team USA a minute later in sixth (+1:28.2).
“Personally, I’m really, really proud of this team,” Diggins said in the mixed zone. “Every single one of these girls went out and skied so hard and skied gutsy races. And we gave it everything we have. And some days that ends up in the results of your life and some days it doesn’t. But either way, all you can control is going out there as hard and as smart as you can. And this team did that.”
Jessie Diggins brings the Americans home in sixth in the women’s 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Though they did not walk away with Olympic hardware, the energy and enthusiasm were high in the mixed zone, with laughter filling the gaps between the athletes’ comments.
On a team composed of two veteran Olympians, Brennan and Diggins, and two first-timers, Swirbul and McCabe, experience and insight helped unify the group and set the Americans up for their best chance at putting together a strong performance.
Leading the breakdown of the race, Swirbul shared, “It’s always important, I think, to try to ski my own race, even though you’re in the field. I definitely had advice from Rosie last night to make sure to pace it how I would face the race – and Jessie. We’re focusing on time, so the fastest time that we can get around that course [for] each person is the best, no matter what place you come in.”
Rosie Brennan races the second leg of the 4 x 5 k Olympic relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Brennan’s performance in the sprint demonstrated her impressive mental strength to overcome setbacks and not count herself – or in this case, her team – out of the running. A bad pole plant directly onto her ski in the sprint quarterfinal could have shaken her confidence, but she rebounded to ultimately finish just over a second off the podium in fourth place.
She approached today with a similar resolve.
“I knew it was full of a lot of the heavy hitters, so I knew I had a tough job ahead of me,” Brennan said. “So I tried to ski smart, but also find something extra to dig a little deeper, but I knew there was going to be some hard fighting at the end. I felt really good about my climbing. And I was a little disappointed with my inability to stick with [the other women] over the top of the hill in the double pole section, but it was all I had out there. So, I have to be happy with that. And I guess I know what I’ll be working on in the future.”
At 21-years-old, McCabe is the youngest member of the relay team.
“It’s so cool to be a part of a team with three legends and I had a lot of fun doing it, even though I was extremely nervous beforehand,” she said with a laugh.
Novie McCabe tags Jessie Diggins for the final leg of the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Her mom, Laura McCabe, is a two-time Olympian who skied the third leg of the relay in both 1994 and 1998. However, Novie laughed that she had not talked to her mother in several days and thus had not received any advice heading into the relay. After much deliberation, the team had only been decided the afternoon prior.
“I tried on the first lap to just stay relaxed,” McCabe explained of her plan. “I knew that there was a chance I would blow up and end up losing a lot of time to that group ahead of me. So I was just trying to focus on [pacing] for the first lap, and on the second, I kind of tried to drop the hammer and do what I could to not lose time.”
In her lap, McCabe lost just 11 seconds to Sweden’s distance standout, Frida Karlsson. She had accomplished her goal.
Diggins explained she headed out for the final leg optimistically hoping things would shake out differently than they ultimately did.
“I basically just swung for the fences and thought, ‘Okay, I’m gonna go out as hard as I can. Because if there’s a chance that [the women ahead of me] monkey around and don’t want to lead, then I’ve got to go for it.’ I thought, ‘You know, if I get lucky and they’re messing around in tactics, there’s a chance I can glom on the back.’ Unfortunately, they did not, as much as I had hoped. And I definitely paid for it in the second lap. I could not feel my legs at all.”
Jessie Diggins anchors the Americans to 6th in the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
After a windy skiathlon and 10 k classic that left tracks blown in with loose snow, the women expressed that conditions today were the best they’ve experienced in racing so far. Though two inches of snow came down overnight, perhaps an unexpected twist in the weather patterns, the Americans each affirmed that their skis were competitive, with Swirbul and Brennan adding the change was especially favorable for their classic legs.
“I actually got to ski in the tracks today, which is so nice,” Brennan said.
On the camaraderie of the team, Brennan shared, “It’s an individual sport, but we also spend close to five months on the road a year together. So it would be pretty boring if you only ever care about yourself. [That’s] not very fun or fulfilling – it doesn’t mean that much. So when we get to actually, truly be out there together, and all of our times count for each other. I think that brings like a new level of meaning and purpose to what we’re doing. And it’s really special to get to share that with your teammates.”
Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (CAN) collapses as she’s greeted by her team at the finish of the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Closing for Canada, Olivia Bouffard Nesbitt lost one spot to the Italian team in the final leg. The Canadian women ended their day in 9th (+3:39.9).
Devon and Nat are back to break down an epic finish to the women’s Olympic relay, with some details on the Russian victory, the surprise German silver and Jonna Sundling helping to deliver a bronze for Sweden. Plus some notes on the Americans in sixth.
Send questions and feedback to devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back tomorrow.
The Russian Olympic Committee’s 4 x 5 k team of Yulia Stupak, Natalia Nepryaeva, Tatiana Sorina, and Veronika Stepanova (l-r) collects their Olympic gold medals. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.
Thursday morning saw the third women’s cross-country race in the Zhangjiakou stadium. On the docket, a 10-kilometer individual start classic with two laps of a challenging 5 k course. After a reprieve from the wind during the sprint event Tuesday evening, it was blowing once again as the athletes headed to the start.
Zhangjiakou 5 k course. (screenshot from FIS homologation certificate)
Unlike the skiathlon which saw 62 finishers, the start list for the 10 k individual classic featured 98 racers. Most of the later starters represented nations we don’t normally see at World Cup events, such as Greece, Brazil, and Hungry. Many of these skiers fall into the ‘B-standard’ Olympic qualification category; provided they can earn less than 300 FIS points in a competition prior to the games, but have greater than the 100 point threshold of the A-standard, these athletes can race in the 10 k and relay events.
To set the stage for Thursday’s race, we can begin with a brief dive into recent Olympic, World Championship, and World Cup results at this distance. Given that this year’s edition of the individual-start 10 k event was contested in classic technique, the 10 k individual start in PyeongChang was a freestyle race (disciplines alter every two years at championship events). As such, it is harder to draw direct predictions from the podium four years ago to possible success in today’s event. Nevertheless, to remind ourselves, it was Ragnhild Haga of Norway who walked away with the gold in 2018. Charlotte Kalla of Sweden finished second and she was followed by Marit Bjørgen of Norway in third position. Delving deeper into the Olympic records, a look at the results from the 10 k individual classic in Sochi, shows that Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland took gold, with Kalla again the runner-up, and Therese Johaug rounding out the podium with bronze.
Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla racing to silver in the 10 k classic individual start at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. (Photo: FS archives)
The most recent championship-level 10 k individual-start classic race was in Seefeld, Austria when the World Championships were held there in 2019. There, the victory went to Therese Johaug who finished 12.2 seconds ahead of Frida Karlsson of Sweden. Johaug’s teammate, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg was third, but has since battled health concerns and been largely absent from international racing.
This season, the two 10 k individual start classic events have been won by Karlsson (in Ruka, FIN +13.7 ahead of Johaug) and Kerttu Niskanen of Finland in Lenzerheide, SUI (during the Tour de Ski in which Johaug did not compete).
Perhaps one of the more open events in terms of podium predictions, the race turned out to be an exciting one with the margins between medal positions coming down to hundredths of seconds. In the end, it was Johaug of Norway who walked away with her second gold medal from these Games, eking out a win ahead of Niskanen (FIN) by just 0.4 seconds.
Therese Johaug (NOR) crosses the finish line and collapses (Photo: NordicFocus)
Rewinding to the start, Russian Olympic Committee athletes Natalia Nepryaeva and Tatiana Sorina clocked the fastest times to begin. Looking at the course profile, the first split at 1.3 k comes at the end of a good deal of climbing. Close behind the ROC athletes were two Finn’s, Niskanen and Krista Pärmäkoski, with Johaug rounding out the top five, a surprising +12.8 seconds behind Nepryaeva.
Move forward to 3.6 k and the top three were within 0.5 seconds of each other, Niskanen and Johaug tied with a split of 10:47.7, Nepryaeva passing through at 0.5 seconds off their mark. With one lap complete, Nepryaeva had started to fade, perhaps paying the price for her early pace. At 5 k it was Johaug with the advantage over Niskanen, but only by +0.6 seconds, and Nepryaeva was now +6.2 behind.
Therese Johaug (NOR) striding her way to a win in the 10 k classic (Photo: NordicFocus)
Through 6.3 k it seemed like Niskanen had made a break, pulling ahead of Johaug by 11 seconds, on a section of course that is mostly climbing, generally a strong point for Johaug. Nepryaeva was still in third +14.7 behind Niskanen and Pärmäkoski (FIN) was holding onto her fourth place position, +17.7 back. In the next 0.5 k, something appears to have happened to the ROC athlete, as Nepryaeva lost 12.1 seconds to Niskanen (+26.8) and was overtaken in by Pärmäkoski who moved into third +18 seconds behind her teammate.
The final course split was at the 8.6 k mark and with Johaug having the earlier bib, we saw her through first. She had gained the minute start deficit she had to Jessie Diggins and moved past the American, employing her signature high tempo up the final A-climb. When Niskanen came through moments later, her body language was visibly more labored than Johaug’s. In spite of this, Niskanen still held the lead, +1.3 seconds ahead of the Norwegian. Pärmäkoski remained in third, +23.6 behind, followed by Nepryaeva who was +31.8 behind.
Natalia Nepryaeva (ROC) slides her foot across the line, 0.1 seconds behind Krista Pärmäkoski of Finland (Photo: NordicFocus)
Entering the stadium, Johaug was skiing outside the windblown tracks. Knowing the margins were tight, she pushed hard, crossing the finish line in a time of 28:06.3. Facing a headwind into the finish, Niskanen chose to keep her skis inside the tracks, battling the final meters as the stopwatch ticked by. Sliding her foot across the line, the timestamp turned to red. She crossed +0.4 seconds behind Johaug.
“It was the two most nervous minutes in my life, waiting for [Niskanen]”, said Johaug in the press conference after the race.
“It was a really tough race out there today and, as Kerttu said, it was really close race,” Johaug continued. “So I feel that it’s also Kerttu’s gold medal because 0.4 second is nothing. I think we both are the the winners today in my head.”
Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) digs deep for precious time in the 10 k classic (Photo: NordicFocus)Teammates Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN) and Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) celebrate their podium finishes. (Photo: NordicFocus)
After earning her first individual gold medal just days ago in the skiathlon, Johaug continues to cement her place in history as she gains another. Her performance gives the Norwegians something to hold onto as the rest of the team struggled to perform at the level fans are accustomed to.
With twins Tiril Udnes and Lotta Udnes Weng finishing 21st and 25th respectively and Mathilde Myhrvold back in 44th position, the remaining women racing on behalf of Norway did not have their strongest showing.
So far, Johaug is the only female Norwegian athlete to earn a medal of any color, while Johannes Høsflot Klæbo earned the only medal on the men’s side, a gold in the 1.5 k freestyle sprint on Tuesday. Three Norwegian athletes, including medal favorites Heidi Weng and Simen Hegstad Krüger, remain detained due to a positive COVID test just prior to travel. Weng recently announced on social media that she will not be making it to China and it is unclear whether Krüger will be cleared in time to compete in events next week.
Lotta Udnes Weng (NOR) finished 25th in the 10 k classic (Photo: NordicFocus)
For Kerttu Niskanen, this silver marks her first individual championship medal. She holds two silver medals from team events, both coming from Sochi in 2014. Niskanen only has three World Cup victories to her name and they all were in 10 k classic events, a specialty of hers.
“My plan before this race was to push hard every time and try to ski within my limits,” Niskanen explained in the press conference. “In the second laps on the long uphill from stadium, on the big uphill, [that] was the best part part for me in these tracks… I tried to push hard also end of the race but the I can say that Therese was much better than me. I did my best and it was really near but, yeah.”
Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) celebrating her first individual Olympic medal (photo: NordicFocus)
The bronze medal was also decided by a razor-thin margin. Pärmäkoski started bib number 38 and was hunted by Nepryaeva in bib 60 who had the advantage of more split information. However, when Nepryaeva crossed the finish line, she was outside by just 0.1 seconds, having finished in a time of 28:37.9 whereas Pärmäkoski came across in 28:37.8. Pärmäkoski has three individual Olympic medals, from a range of events in PyeongChang. She earned bronze in both the skiathlon and 10 k individual freestyle in 2018, as well as silver in the 30 k classic mass start.
Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN) stretching for the lunge that gave her third place (Photo: NordicFocus)
For the American contingent, there was some back and forth playing out between Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan throughout the race. Just 48 hours after winning the first individual medal for women’s cross-country skiing, Diggins was back on the start line wearing bib 34, starting one minute ahead of eventual winner, Johaug in bib 36. Brennan started in bib 44.
Jessie Diggins (USA) crests a climb in the 10 k individual start classic (Photo: NordicFocus)
At the 1.3 k mark, the two were 13th and 14th, with Brennan +19.9 behind and Diggins +20.4. At 3.6 k Brennan had moved into 8th, +21.3 behind with Diggins in 10th, +25.1 back. With the climbing complete for the first lap, the 5 k split showed Diggins in 9th, +30.1 behind with Brennan now behind her in 11th, +31.8. Begin the climbing for the second lap and Brennan was again the first American, in 9th place and +45.7 behind while Diggins was in 14th, +52.7.
Rosie Brennan (USA) hits a dynamic stride in the 10 k classic (photo: NordicFocus)
At 8.6 k the two were neck and neck, Diggins in 10th, +1:05.6 and Brennan in 11th, +1:11.6. Over the final 1.4 k Diggins grew her advantage over her teammate to finish in 8th position, +1:08.8 behind winner, Therese Johaug (NOR). Brennan finished her day in 13th place, +1:22.3 behind Johaug.
Jessie Diggins (USA) left it all out on the course in the 10 k classic, per usual. (Photo: NordicFocus)
As she provided comments on today’s performance, Diggins first spoke to savoring the moment of yesterday’s medal ceremony. “It was so special to call my family and call my fiancé, and come back to the apartment and show our staff like our coaches the medal and just enjoy that moment.”
After a “rollercoaster” of eating, drinking, and other recovery-focused actions – Diggins said the Tour de Ski was helpful for knowing how to handle the tight turnaround – she turned her full attention to today’s classic race.
“I was really, really happy today,” Diggins said in the mixed zone. “I was so focused on my process. This is undoubtably my weakest event, but I was just so focused on enjoying it – like, ‘Great! No pressure. This is just my day to go out there and enjoy racing at the Olympics.’ Especially seeing Novie do her first Olympic race – I got to put the glitter on her I give her a hug – it was honestly pretty emotional. But in a good way.”
Though she has steadily closed the gap between her results in skate and classic performances, Diggins has been primarily seen success in freestyle competitions. On today’s race, she maintained that her focus was not on the result, but on giving her all despite classic being her weaker technique.
“It was so cool to work on that process and dial in the kick,” Diggins said. “I was so, so grateful for awesome skis. When I go really hard, I can’t feel my body from the waist down. And when you can’t feel your legs and you’re still kicking up the hill – you have to have great kick… And man, they delivered. I was just so proud of them.Especially in challenging conditions where it’s windblown in the tracks, or you’re trying to keep skis fast and grippy. That’s hard… I think they did a great job.”
Speaking to whether she has made progress in her classic skiing, Diggins continued, “I would like to think so. I’ve been working very very hard on it for a lot of years. I’ve been just so focused on that process on the technique and every single stride I was just thinking so hard about my technique. It really kept me right in the moment and thinking about what I could do so yeah, I’m gonna keep working on it to keep improving it.”
Jessie Diggins skis to 8th in the 10 k classic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
On a course Brennan described as “brutal” she explained that seconds could easily be gained or lost along any stretch, up or downhill. She also acknowledged the challenge of facing the wind in an interval start race where there may be less opportunity to use another skier to block the wind than there is in a mass start. Overall, Brennan executed her goals on the day, despite looking to be higher on the results sheet.
“I was really focused on having powerful classic skiing and I was pretty happy with how I skied,” Brennan said in the mixed zone. “I wish I had a little more, but I did what I could with what I had today.”
Brennan finished one place (just 0.6 seconds) behind Sweden’s Frida Karlsson, who has two wins in the 10 k classic on the World Cup, including a win over Johaug earlier this season. This strong result is on the heels of her Olympic career best finish in the individual skate sprint, which was held under the lights Tuesday evening.
“The turnaround was definitely hard,” Brennan said. “It’s really hard with these late night races to get good sleep afterwards. So I think that was challenging. I did a lot of training this summer to try to like mimic that load. So I’m hoping that I can manage it, but we will take it day by day and see what we can do.”
Rosie Brennan comes to the line in 13th in the 10 k individual start classic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Making her Olympic debut, Novie McCabe was the first starter for the United States, wearing bib number 5. At the age of 20, McCabe is the youngest member of a young team in Beijing. After earning her first World Cup points in Davos earlier this year, McCabe also notched a top-ten finish during the Alpe Cermis hill climb during the Tour de Ski. In an impressive performance, McCabe skied her way to 24th in a time of 30:34.9.
When she started, the British Eurosport announcers remarked, “I think McCabe is going to be a superstar like Diggins in a few years.”
At 5 k, McCabe was in 38th position, +1:27.9 behind Johaug. At 6.3 k she had moved into 32nd, at 6.8 k she was in 29th and by 8.6 k she had jumped to 24th, which she held through the finish.
“The long last hill was, for sure, so hard,” McCabe said after the race. “I tried to kind of just zone out and get through it. And I knew that it would be tough, especially on the last time up. But it was nice also to have so many people like around me out there and kind of have people to watch ahead of me. That helps a lot.”
Novie Mccabe (USA) skiing strong in her first Olympic race (Photo: NordicFocus)
Hailey Swirbul was the fourth American competitor and wore bib 27. Swirbul raced in the skiathlon earlier this week and finished in 40th. In today’s 10 k classic, she bested that performance and landed herself in 32nd, +2:59.0 behind Johaug. Swirbul was just five seconds outside of the Top-30.
“It was better than my last race,” Swirbul said simply in response to how she felt about her day. “I’m excited. I had a little bit of a reset – had a few days to recover from that first effort and have really focused on kind of resetting my goals, trying to push as hard as I could through that whole race and not give up no matter what. And I was able to do that today.”
With the women’s relay looming, team selection is a buzzing topic amongst ski fans. Swirbul skied a classic leg in the December, 2021 relay in Lillehammer, NOR, and was a member of the 2021 World Championship relay team in Oberstdorf, GER. The American team finished just off the podium in fourth in both races.
Swirbul said that relay team selection was not on her mind during her race today, though she does feel the pressure to perform that is perhaps inescapable at an Olympic level competition.
“That definitely does factor in for all of us here,” she said. “But I think at the end of the day, everyone on our team is confident that we’re going to try to put in the team with the best shot of a relay medal. So there are no hard feelings. There’s nothing personal about that team selection. We all trust that we’re just trying to do the best for our nation and give us a good shot.”
Hailey Swirbul (USA) working her way to a 32nd place finish in the 10 k classic (Photo: NordicFocus)
For the Canadians, Dahria Beatty continued her momentum, building off of strong performances in both the skiathlon and sprint to finish 18th, +1:53.9. This is a personal best for Beatty, following a week of personal bests. She finished 25th in the skiathlon and 25th in the sprint; her best Olympic performance before that was a 37th place in 2018 during the 10 k freestyle at PyeongChang.
Dahria Beatty (CAN) skiing to a personal best result of 18th (Photo: NordicFocus)
Behind Beatty, Kathrine Stewart-Jones finished 36th for team Canada, +3:02.3 behind. Cendrine Brown was 48th (+3:41.6), and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt was 61st (+4:54.8).
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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 History:
A survey of the last five Olympic cycles shows a clear trend in American women’s sprint results: upward. In the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, no Americans qualified in the freestyle sprint. Tessa Benoit was the top qualifier in 38th, with an up-and-coming Kikkan Randall next for Team USA in 44th. Randall was then 20 years old.
In the freestyle sprint four years later in Torino, Randall was the only American to qualify for the heats. She was 10th in qualification, then moved to 9th in the final standings. Switching to classic for the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Randall again qualified in 10th to be the only American in the heats, this time racing her way up to eighth.
And then there was Sochi.
The 2014 Games in Sochi were a turning point for the American squad, with all four women qualifying inside the Top-30 in the freestyle sprint. This time, a new name topped the list for qualification: Sophie Caldwell in 9th. Not to be overlooked, USA also had Jessie Diggins 12th, Kikkan Randall 18th, and Ida Sargent 25th.
Racing in her first Olympiad, Caldwell (now Hamilton) entered uncharted territory as she won her quarterfinal to advance into the semis, which she finished in a thrilling boot slide to be 0.1 seconds behind heat winner Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway. Though she crashed in the final, she again moved the needle upward for the Americans by finishing sixth in the final heat.
The remaining American women also finished inside the Top-20, though none made it beyond the quarterfinals. Diggins was 13th, Randall 18th, and Sargent 19th.
The American women’s sprint team prepares for the individual freestyle sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Carrying momentum from these Games through the next Olympic quad, the Americans had three women in the Top-30 for the classic sprint in PyeongChang in 2018, with Sargent just outside in 33rd.
This time it was Diggins in 7th – the top Olympic qualification result of any American woman – with Sadie Bjornsen 9th, and Caldwell 12th.
Despite it being her weaker technique, Diggins raced with confidence, landing in second in both her quarter and semi to advance automatically into the final. Losing touch with the leaders, Diggins repeated Caldwell’s historic result to finish 6th overall.
Perhaps a less apparent victory, Caldwell also raced into the semis, finishing 8th overall after taking third in her semi and missing a lucky loser spot in the final by just 0.18 seconds. Bjornsen was eliminated in her quarter after taking third in her quarter, on the wrong side of the lucky loser mark, but just barely, to end her day in 14th.
Fast forward four years and get excited.
Rosie Brennan (USA) on her way to the 2nd fastest time during qualification. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sweden’s Jonna Sundling smashed the qualification round of the 1.5-kilometer freestyle sprint, setting the mark at 3:09.03. The next name on the list? Rosie Brennan in second (+5.80), ahead of Nadine Fähndrich (SUI) in third (+6.62), Yulia Stupak (ROC) fourth (+7.98), and… Diggins in fifth (+8.69).
Have you been reading closely? Both Brennan and Diggins both exceeded the previous best result in qualification from any American woman in history.
Also posting a strong qualifier, Julia Kern was 14th in qualification (+11.66), rebounding from Saturday’s skiathlon which left her wanting more. The final American starter, Hannah Halvorsen, finished 43rd (+20.10) in qualification – outside the Top-30, but still above Randall’s result from her first Olympic Games 20 years ago.
Jessie Diggins (USA) skis the 5th fastest time during qualification. (Photo: NordicFocus)
You may be wondering about the spread of times; the top-10 were nearly 11 seconds apart. After a quick descent out of the stadium, the course in Zhangjiakou features a 30-meter climb – nearly 100 vertical feet – followed by a sweeping downhill that leads back toward the stadium. From there, athletes face a 14-meter climb back into the stadium, finishing with a gradual rise to the line. Combined with cold dry snow, these factors can contribute to an above-average spread amongst the top qualifiers.
Here we go: the heats.
Brennan lined up alongside Sweden’s Sundling in the first quarterfinal heat. With nerves running high, a false start brought the six women back into the gate after the first starting beep. On the second go, the women pushed through the wands cleanly, but on one of her first doublepole pushes, Brennan caught the edge of her boot, dropping down to her knees and losing any momentum she had picked up as the field rocketed away from her.
Not willing to let the day end there, Brennan collected herself and focused on the task at hand, regaining contact with the group at the bottom of the climb and grinding her way into second position, looking strong as she crested the top of the hill just behind Sundling and rounded the curve to head into the descent.
After stumbling out of the start, Rosie Brennan (USA) charges back to the front of her quarterfinal heat. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Given the effort required for such a comeback, would there be enough left in the tank for the B-climb or had the matches been burned early? With Sundling holding steady in the lead Brennan was challenged by Slovenian sprint champion Anamarija Lampic as the women pushed up the final climb, but found another gear for a commanding second-place finish, +2.4 behind Sundling, but +0.7 ahead of Lampic, who would advance as a lucky loser.
The second heat featured medal favorite Maja Dahlqvist of Sweden, who qualified in sixth. Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng set the pace, leading up the A-climb with Dahlqvist alongside, and Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva on their tails. Powering out of the B-Climb, Dahlqvist held the advantage at the front, while Nepryaeva and Weng slid over the line in a photo finish for second and third. A closer look showed Weng’s boot accelerate as she reached forward, just in time to nip Nepryaeva at the line by 0.03 seconds for the automatic advancement to the semifinal. The second heat was six seconds slower than the first, leaving Nepryaeva out of the running for a lucky loser spot.
A fast third heat saw Nadine Fähndrich of Switzerland and Maiken Caspersen Falla advance automatically, pulling Germany’s Victoria Carl over the line as the second lucky loser.
Dancing and smiling in the start gate, Diggins got out with a clean start, positioned near the front and looking powerful as the women headed into the downhill curve out of the stadium. Around this curve, she was pushed to the outside as she skied defensively to dodge potential snags with the other skiers’ equipment, leaving the curve near the back of the pack.
Jessie Diggins (USA) leads Emma Ribom (SWE) in the early rounds. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Then, Diggins put on a show up the climb. Steadily moving up along the outside, she was perfectly balanced in a crisp V2 while other were in V1, catching the Swedish leader Emma Ribom. Leading over the top, Diggins kept the pace high to take the sting out of other sprinters. Carrying momentum out of the descent and again holding a strong V2 up the B-Climb, Diggins carried her lead through the finish to win by over 2 seconds, with Ribom next. There was no doubt that Diggins was looking good heading into the semi.
In the final quarter, Julia Kern pushed the pace in the first half, positioning herself in the lead as the pack headed out of the climb. She held her position through the downhill and around the hard right turn, carrying momentum into the hill. Perhaps paying for her efforts early on, Kern was dropped on the final climb as Veronika Stepanova (ROC) and Sofie Krehl (GER) broke away before heading into the stadium. Kern kept herself in the fight, staying in contact with Alina Meier (SUI) through the false flat to the finish, but ended up fourth in the heat, +3.5 back from the leader and behind the mark needed for a lucky loser spot in the semis. A gusty and tactical performance in her first Olympic sprint appearance.
Julia Kern (USA) led her quarterfinal early during the individual freestyle sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
To regroup: we now have two Americans in the semi, matching the previous best result from 2018.
Lining up in the first heat of the semis, Brennan got out of the start smoothly, tucking into the back of the back to safely descend out of the stadium and carry momentum out of the left-hand bend and into the A-climb.
Following the effective, albeit unforeseen, strategy from her first round, Brennan pushed her way up the A-Climb, moving from sixth place into the lead. The American kept the effort high as she pulled Sundling, Dahlqvist, Fähndrich. Brennan charged the downhill, stepping powerfully around the right hand bend to head into the B-climb at high speed. In the second climb, the two Swedes, Sundling and Dahlqvist, worked their way around Brennan, with Fähndrich also accelerating. No relief until the finish, Brennan did not let up in the undulating terrain that follows the B-climb, rounding the final curve in fourth place just behind Dahlqvist.
After setting a fast pace for the heat, Rosie Brennan finishes fourth in her semifinal to advance as a lucky loser. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sundling stretched out the spread of the top-four in the final stretch to take the win in 3:11.94, with Fähndrich second, Dahlqvist third, and Brennan fourth, +1.35 behind Sundling. Brennan’s efforts to keep the pace hot contributed to a lightning fast heat, with Sundling’s time nearly four seconds faster than the top finish in the quarterfinal. This left Brennan in good standing for a lucky loser spot in the final, but she would need to hold her breath to see what the second heat would decide.
The second semi was quick out of the gate, with Sweden’s Ribom leading up the start of the A-climb. Diggins was comfortably tucked into the pack, beginning to set her race plan into action as she V2ed steadily up the side of the track, holding her form longer than the others as she moved into the lead. Nearing the high point, Diggins switched to a rapid tempo V1 with Norway’s Falla matching pace to head out of the climb in first and second.
Diggins sat in a low tuck at the front, stepping around the sweeping left-hander and heading into the B-Climb with Ribom and Falla trying to match pace and challenge at the front. Ribom moved ahead near the top of the climb to lead into the final curve. Diggins sat on the Swede’s tails, with Stepanova alongside. A bobble zapped some of Diggins’ momentum and could have been devastating, but the American kept her composure and stayed upright, staying in contact with Ribom as they headed into the finish lanes.
With Ribom in the lead, Diggins powered toward the finish line to secure a second place auto-qualifier spot for the final. She crossed the line +0.4 behind Ribom’s mark of 3:15.22, with Falla and Stepanova crossing in third and fourth a few meters back.
As the second heat times were roughly four seconds slower than the first, Brennan could let out a sigh of relief. The second lucky loser spot was now hers.
And now, we watch history unfold. Two American women in the final, as Brennan and Diggins set a new mark for the stars and stripes.
The final lineup saw Sundling, Dahlqvist, and Ribom racing for Sweden, alongside Diggins and Brennan, with Fähndrich representing Switzerland in red.
Emma Ribom (SWE), Nadine Faehndrich (SUI), Rosie Brennan (USA) and Maja Dahlqvist (SWE), (l-r) get up to speed at the beginning of the women’s individual sprint final. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Taking charge from the start, Sundling skied with authority, smoothly leading her teammates Dahlqvist and Ribom up the A-climb to put Sweden in first through third heading out of the climb. Diggins was fourth as they crested the high point, with Fähndrich on her tails and Brennan just behind.
Utilizing the speed of her skis and her strength in the downhill, Diggins moved up alongside the Swedes in the descent, looking for position heading into the final climb. Maintaining her command of the race, Sundling rocketed off the front to gap the remaining five women who all remained in contention for a medal leaving the climb.
Ribom quickly fell off the pack, leaving Dahlqvist leading a tight group of four over the undulating terrain that led to the final bend before the stadium. Diggins and Brennan looked to be boxed out as they headed around the final curve in third and fourth, respectively, but the Americans were patient versus panicked, which could put them at risk of a fall.
Coming out of the curve, Diggins accelerated around Fähndrich to challenge Dahlqvist for the silver medal. Brennan followed her teammate to surge past the fading Swiss athlete, setting the stage for a three-way sprint for two podium positions.
Sundling had gold on lock, nearly three seconds ahead as she crossed the finish line in 3:09.68.
Jonna Sundling (SWE) with a commanding victory in the individual freestyle sprint comes to the finish with Rosie Brennan (USA) in the background on her way to fourth. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In her wake, Dahlqvist and Diggins were taking it to the line, with the Swede carrying a slight advantage in the final meters. Still, with Brennan close behind and both Fähndrich and Ribom off the back, the Americans were almost guaranteed their first individual medal in history.
Skiing their fastest splits of the day, Dahlqvist held her ground to the silver medal (+2.88), with Diggins on her right, less than a ski length back for bronze (+3.16).
Jessie Diggins crosses the line in third to earn the first individual Olympic medal in women’s cross country ski history. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Just over a second back, Brennan crossed fourth (+4.49), for the second best individual finish in American women’s history. The Americans maintained a gap to Fähndrich in fifth (+7.21) and Ribom sixth (+11.11).
Diggins collapsed to the ground, overcome by the emotion of what she had accomplished. Perhaps a testament to her team-centric approach, she was heard saying, “Good job, Rosie!” between gasps, as she got back to her feet to immediately hug the coaches, support staff, and teammates that lined the edge of the course.
Jessie Diggins hugs her coaches and teammates after finishing third in the individual freestyle sprint in Zhangjiakou. (Photo: NordicFocus)An emotional Jessie Diggins wraps the American flag around her shoulders after taking bronze in the freestyle sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Tearfully wrapping an American flag around her shoulders, Diggins was aglow as she savored the moment before heading back to the finish to stand alongside Sundling and Dalhqvist for the podium shot.
Jonna Sundling (SWE) takes gold in the freestyle sprint, ahead of Maja Dahlqvist (SWE) and Jessie Diggins (USA). (Photo: NordicFocus)
Though she was the one whose name would be highlighted in history books, Diggins focus on the importance of those around her remained at the forefront as she celebrated the many victories of the American team in today’s event.
“It was so cool to be there with Rosie,” Diggins said in the mixed zone. “She’s skiing so amazingly well… and I’m just so grateful. That’s the overwhelming emotion, because it takes so much from such a huge team to make this happen. And we had obviously amazing skis, but also amazing teammates for years and years and years, helping me train, pushing me, supporting me – amazing coaches, amazing volunteer staff. You can’t even imagine how much it took from so many people, and so I’m just so thankful because I feel like this medal belongs to about 1000 different people. And I hope they really feel that and know that.”
Jessie Diggins takes Olympic bronze in the freestyle team sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Of her approach to the course, Diggins gave a simple response, acknowledging that she has a way of blacking out while having great races, “which is really annoying,” she laughed, “because I’d love to be able to remember exactly what I did.”
“I was just so focused on trying to push as hard as I could,” Diggins explained. “Just trying to ski as well as I could and stay balanced. The snow felt a little greasy, so especially in the finishing lane, just trying to put as much power as I could into every single push. And honestly, that’s all I can remember.”
Jessie Diggins (USA) on her way to the USA’s first ever individual women’s medal in the Olympics. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Perhaps the FasterSkier audience needs no reminder that Diggins came into the 2022 Games as a gold medalist, having won the freestyle team sprint with Kikkan Randall in 2018, a day that brought many Americans, including this writer, to tears. Diggins was asked to reflect on the last four years, and the progress she’s made in her career.
“The last four years, I’ve really found my voice,” Diggins said confidently. “I’ve really found a lot of my purpose, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot. But also, I’m exactly the same person in pretty much every other way. I think one of the big things has been dealing with is the pressure and expectations, because there’s been a lot of it, and it hasn’t been easy. So for me, I think it was such a victory just to make it to the final and know that I’m skiing well. I came into this as prepared as I could be, which one of my biggest goals was to come in prepared. The second goal, cross the finish line with nothing left. And the third goal was to just have fun, and keep focusing on the process, because that’s what gets me where I am today. Like win, lose, or draw, it’s just focusing on the process and, and executing those process goals to the very best of my ability, because then I’m always proud of how I finished. I’m just proud of this effort today as I was at the skiathlon, even though they were different outcomes.”
Jessie Diggins was all smiles as she passed through the mixed zone following her bronze medal performance in the women’s individual sprint. (Photo: Nat Herz/FasterSkier-ADN)
Fourth place at the Olympics – fourth in the world on its most prestigious stage – is both a truly incredible feat and perhaps the most challenging final rank to wrap one’s head around. The “wooden medal”, just shy of the Olympic hardware skiers dream about from their youth.
“Fourth place was hard,” Brennan said honestly in the mixed zone. “You feel really happy and also frustrated at the same time. I have a lot of mixed emotions about it. But I did everything I could today, and maybe not everything went perfectly my way. But I have to be happy with that at the end of the day.”
Jessie Diggins (USA) and Rosie Brennan find their position in the early moments of the women’s final. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Asked what she would have said if four years ago, someone told her she would be in this position, Brennan laughed, “I probably wouldn’t have believed it so much.”
She talked through a rough start to the day, sharing that she has always struggled with start gates and had spent the last six weeks practicing to ensure a clean start.
“So, there I was on the ground, I was like, ‘So much for all that practice.’ But I knew my strength was in the climb, so I just had to pull it back [together] and focus on the all the time I had left and see what I could do to try and make it up.”
On her approach through the heats, Brennan played to her strengths, recognizing she could take the lead, work the hills, and not let her heats unfold as a casual first 1200 meters with a tactical final sprint that might leave her in the dust.
“My strength lies more in the endurance aspect of it,” she explained. “I tried to just keep the pace high so that I could count on being a lucky loser – by having a fast heat time. So that was my strategy in the semifinal, and it worked. Once I got to the final, I tried to then be a little more smart about my racing. I tried to be patient and wait until the last climb. I was a little far back, so I kind of got the door closed on me to make it through. So I had to kind of adjust and go for a strong finish sprint, which isn’t always my strength. But I did all I could do.”
With Ben Ogden racing into the semis in the men’s race, it was an historic day for the American program as a whole. Speaking to this landmark day, Brennan concluded with an inspiring message for those who dream of following in their footsteps.
“I think it shows the growing depth in our country. And I hope it shows a lot of people just to have some patience and keep training, keep going for it. You never know where you’ll end up.”
Jonna Sundling (SWE) takes gold in her first Olympic appearance in the women’s freestyle sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Taking a closer look at the winner, Sundling is the 2018 World Champion in the freestyle sprint. Returning from injury, she has built her way into the season. Though Dahlqvist has shined as the undefeated World Cup star for Sweden, Sundling has crept up alongside, taking second to Dahlqvist in the individual sprint in Dresden, and working together to win the team sprint. Sitting out the Tour de Ski, Sundling beat Dahlqvist in their next matchup in a Scandinavian Cup race in Falun, Sweden.
This is Sundling’s first Olympic appearance, though she and Dahlqvist will be a likely pairing in the classic team sprint next Wednesday.
Once the final rounds were complete, Kern’s final placement was determined to be 18th. This marks a significant step forward from her first appearance in the skiathlon, where she finished 53rd.
Julia Kern (USA), who finished in 18th place overall, pushes to the finish during her quarterfinal round. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“It was really tough out there, but a lot of fun to have a challenging course and give it my all,” Kern told FasterSkier in the mixed zone.
Dahria Beatty 28th in qualification (+14.51) to be the only Canadian woman to make the heats. Beatty raced in the first semifinal, where she finished fifth in the heat to finish 25th on the day.
Just 0.7 seconds off the top-30 mark, Cendrine Browne was 35th in qualification (+15.82) with Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt close behind in 40th (+16.89). Laura Leclair rounded out the Canadian team in 58th (+26.28).
Dahria Beatty (CAN) races in the quarterfinals on her way to 25th place overall. (Photo: NordicFocus)
An Australian dual citizen who is a long-time APU team member, Jessica Yeaton was 52nd (+23.82) in the qualifying round.
Kicking off the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games with a look into the women’s skiathlon. Co-host Nat Herz was on site during the race, braving the wind and cold to collect deeper insights into the scene, while Kershaw gives his hot take as a very-well-informed armchair quarterback. Note that Kershaw picked two of the top-three athletes correctly in his pre-Olympic podium picks: unsurprisingly, the favorite, Therese Johaug took gold, while Natalia Nepryaeva (ROC) earned silver instead of the bronze Kersh predicted. (Find full compiled picks and current standings for the Devon Kershaw vs. Alex Harvey Olympic podium predictions showdown here.)
Stay tuned for regular updates and race breakdowns over the course of the Games! Thanks for listening.
Jessie Diggins throws down an impressive performance in the skating half of the women’s 15k skiathlon, the opening event of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Striding out of the stadium at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Center (Photo: NordicFocus)
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.
After a long hiatus from international racing, the top athletes found themselves on the start line once again, ready to contest the first event of the 2022 Winter Olympics. First up, a 15-kilometer skiathlon, featuring 64 starters completing four 3.75 k loops. The skiathlon, which combines both classic and skate in one race (7.5 k of each in this case), is an infrequent event on the World Cup circuit though appears on the schedule at all championships.
Four years ago, at the Olympics in PyeongChang, it was Charlotte Kalla of Sweden who bested the field to take gold, followed by Marit Bjørgen of Norway and Krista Pärmäkoski of Finland. Notably, this year’s winner, Therese Johaug was not present, but we will return to this point later on.
Celebration for Therese Johaug (NOR) as she takes her first ever individual Olympic gold medal (Photo: NordicFocus)
Watched by a few masked fans in the stands, the athletes completed final preparations before the start. Even without looking at the temperature, the cold was evident, from the blowing trees and bibs to the drifting snow across the tracks and the face-tape present on all the starters. The thermometer said -12.5°C or 9.5°F, though this reading likely didn’t factor in the windchill. With minutes to go, the athletes emerged from a set of underground stairs, bundled in parkas, to take their places on the start line.
At the starters command, the first cross-country ski race of the 2022 Olympics was underway, and almost immediately two skiers went down in a crash, though thankfully the damage did not impact the rest of the field. Coralie Bentz of France and Anne Kyllönen of Finland recovered quickly and rejoined the pack. With the first A-climb less than 1 k into the course, early leaders Rosie Brennan (USA) and Therese Johaug (NOR) pushed the pace, and the pack soon thinned.
Therese Johaug (NOR) leads the charge up the first big hill, Rosie Brennan (USA) can be seen leading the left most column (Photo: NordicFocus)
On the descents, the camera showed most athletes opting to ski on the platform, rather than the tracks, due to the drifting snow that was filling them. Skirting another fall, this time from Johanna Matintalo of Finland, the front group entered the stadium for the first round in a pack of roughly fifteen. With just over eleven minutes on the race clock, there were ten athletes within five seconds of Johaug, a slight surprise given her tendency for early breakaways.
Heading out for the second lap, Johaug visibly upped the pace though still had difficulty shaking her followers. Through the 5.1 k mark, the spread was now ten athletes over the span of ten seconds, led by Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) and ending with her teammate Matintalo, who had recovered from her fall. Whittled away over the duration of that lap, when they reached the second A-climb of the course before descending towards the stadium, Johaug was leading a group of just six skiers.
Entering the stadium for the transition to skate skis, Johaug double-poled the final rise, managing to open a slight gap to Niskanen, Frida Karlsson (SWE) and Pärmäkoski (FIN). Executing a quick exchange she held the lead and was out with 23:04.7 elapsed on the clock. Niskanen followed +1.0 behind, Pärmäkoski +2.2 and Karlsson +4.3.
It is worth noting that after the exchanges, Jessie Diggins of the USA was in tenth, +57.5 seconds behind Johaug, having dropped significantly over the first two classic loops. Rosie Brennan was next in 14th (+1:11.9), with Hailey Swirbul in 23rd (+1:52.6) as the final American inside the Top-30. Julia Kern was +4:07.1 behind in 53rd, about to hit the gas on the skate laps.
Jessie Diggins (USA) strides up one of the many challenging climbs (Photo: NordicFocus)
Capitalizing on her one-second advantage, Johaug found herself off the front for the first time. Pärmäkoski, Karlsson and Niskanen shared leads in an attempt to chase her down but by 8.8 k the gap had stretched to +15.8, effectively securing Johaug her first ever individual Olympic gold medal. From that point, the margins only grew: +26 at 10 k, +44 at 12.6 k and +30.2 at the completion of 15 k.
Despite her utter dominance of World Cup races and World Championships the past few seasons, Johaug’s results sheet at the Olympics is not what you might expect.
Tears were shed by Therese Johaug (NOR) as she finally gets her long deserved gold medal (Photo: NordicFocus)
Prior to the day’s skiathlon victory, she had only one other gold medal, coming from the team relay in the 2010 Games in Vancouver Canada. She was a runner-up in Sochi 2014 during the 30 k freestyle mass start when she placed second behind teammate, Marit Bjørgen, and she also earned bronze in the 10 k classic in Sochi. Johaug received an 18-month competition ban in 2017 for a positive doping test which prevented her from attending the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.
In her post-race press conference, Johaug said she does not hold onto anger about her suspension, which left her even more motivated to prove herself this year.
“I’m finished with these years and I’m focusing on myself, and the future and things I can do something with,” Johaug said in a press conference. “It means maybe more for me today when I’m didn’t have this gold medal, and maybe if I had the gold medal before, this Olympics, maybe I would not been here.”
Therese Johaug (NOR) on top in the first cross-country competition at the 2022 Olympics (Photo: NordicFocus)
With the recent outbreak of COVID amongst the Norwegian team, Johaug’s path to Beijing has not been as smooth as she would have liked. She only arrived at the venue on Wednesday, leaving just a few days to adjust to the time change and climate before the first event. In spite of these challenges, she proved equal to the task, skiing away with the victory in a time of 44:13.7.
Behind Johaug, the race for silver and bronze was playing out in a dramatic way. Initially, Karlsson of Sweden seemed to have pulled away, when at 10 k she was 26 seconds behind Johaug, and 10 seconds ahead of Niskanen (FIN) and Teresa Stadlober of Austria. However, this break was short-lived, and at 11.3 k, Karlsson was less than a second ahead of Natalia Nepryaeva (ROC) who had worked with Stadlober to rejoin the chase pack. Pärmäkoski (FIN) began to drop off the pace and the group was down to four. At this point, Diggins (USA) could be spotted closing in on Pärmäkoski, who continued to fade.
Entering the final A-climb of the race, Stadlober (AUT) injected some pace, attempting to pull away but Karlsson of Sweden and Nepryaeva (ROC) hung on. Only Niskanen (FIN) dropped slightly.
Thus it was three skiers vying for two medal spots. But as they descended towards the stadium Niskanen closed in again, making the group four. Nepryaeva crested the final rise in front as across the stadium the camera showed Johaug crossing the line, arms raised and a frozen smile on her face.
Frozen but happy, Therese Johaug (NOR) (Photo: NordicFocus)
Down the finishing straight Nepryaeva held onto her lead as Stadlober mounted a final challenge, ultimately running out of space as the two finished in silver and bronze position respectively. Niskanen (FIN) finished fourth (+36.1), Karlsson (SWE) in fifth (+42.5), and in an impressive comeback, Diggins crossed the line sixth (+50.5).
A tight battle for silver and bronze between Teresa Stadlober (AUT) and Natalia Nepryaeva (ROC), (l-r) (Photo: NordicFocus)
This silver is the first Olympic medal for Natalia Nepryaeva, who most recently became the first Russian women to win the Tour de Ski. Her only other Olympic appearances came in PyeongChang where her best finish was fourth in the classic sprint.
Teresa Stadlober (r-AUT) celebrates a bronze medal as Natalia Nepryaeva (l-ROC) is overcome with emotion (Photo: NordicFocus)
For Teresa Stadlober of Austria, this bronze medal could be viewed as redemption. Stadlober was in medal contention during the 30 k classic at PyeongChang when a last minute wrong turn took her out of the running. Furthermore, after a total of 18 individual starts at championship events (Olympics and World Championships), this is Stadlober’s first medal. She holds just three World Cup podiums, two during the 2018 edition of the Tour de Ski in Toblach where she placed third in the 10 k classic mass start and had the second fastest time of the day on the Alpe Cermis hill climb. The third podium was in a 15 k skiathlon in Oberstdorf Germany in 2020 where she also placed third.
First Olympic medal for Teresa Stadlober (AUT) (Photo: NordicFocus)
Other noteworthy performances from the day includes Anastasia Rygalina (ROC), who has had just ten World Cup starts in her career and never finished in the top ten, finishing the race in 8th. Behind her, Delphine Claudel of France earned a new personal best for the Olympics placing 9th.
Jessie Diggins (USA) exits the transition zone, followed by Ebba Andersson (SWE) (Photo: NordicFocus)
After being +55.5 seconds behind Pärmäkoski and the chase group at the exchange, Diggins ended up finishing a full eight seconds ahead of the Finn and was just 20 seconds behind bronze medalist, Stadlober.
“I definitely finished with nothing left so I feel really good about that,” said Diggins in the mixed zone after the race. “I was so proud of never giving up. I feel really good about the pacing and where my fitness is. I definitely want to figure out some things with my power striding, but overall I think this was a really encouraging start to the Games and honestly it feels really good just to have gotten here and to be able to race.”
Left it all on the course, Jessie Diggins (USA) collapsed in the finish (Photo: NordicFocus)
When asked about the cold and windy conditions Diggins replied, “My hands got pretty cold because I needed thinner gloves for the pit-box changing. My muscles stayed warm though. [The wind] is really something, and that’s what makes it so cold, so I think it’s important to really push that and stay warm.”
Regarding the course, Diggins said, “They’re really good courses. I really like them. I think they’re really fair and great championship courses. They’re as hard as they look, you’ve really got to work for it.”
Jessie Diggins fields media questions in the mixed zone. (Nat Herz/FasterSkier-ADN)
In Diggins final 5k, she advanced from eighth place and over 1:13 back to finish sixth place and roughly 50 seconds back. This is a difference of 23 seconds gained on the leader over 5k, with ten seconds gained in the final 2.4k.
“I had amazing skate skis and I think I had paced just well enough to be able to do that,” Diggins said of this progress. “I crossed the finish line with nothing left. It’s really cool to get a race on these courses in and I think I’m figuring [them] out.”
Rosie Brennan leaves the exchange zone halfway through the women’s 15k skiathlon, the opening race of the 2022 Winter Olympics. (Nat Herz/FasterSkier-ADN)
Brennan was the next finisher for Team USA, in fourteenth position (+2:51.7). Brennan had initially fallen behind Germany’s Katharina Hennig in the skate leg to slide into 15th, but she regained her position with 3 k to go, further accelerating to give herself a 7 second cushion at the finish.
“Definitely a little bit of everything out there today,” Brennan told U.S. Ski & Snowboard communications manager Tom Horrocks after the race. “Some good, some ugly, some in between.”
While Brennan’s result might not be evidence that she is a medal threat in the event, and she is surely left wanting more, she spoke like a true veteran, showing maturity and perspective in her response to how she will look back on the performance.
“I think I have to take the like big picture perspective. Four years ago, I think I was close to dead last fighting some [mononucleosis], and that was my first and last Olympic race. So I really had kind of a — I don’t know what you’d call it — a demon in the back of my mind that I needed to get rid of. So to be in a better place today, even if it wasn’t my best, was a step in the right direction. And that’s something that I’m proud of.”
Rosie Brennan catches her breath after finishing 14th in the women’s skiathlon at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. (Nat Herz/FasterSkier-ADN)
While official start lists are not yet available, as Brennan is one of USA’s top skiers, she will likely start in multiple upcoming events.
On her mindset and how she’s feeling heading into these stages, Brennan said, “It’s been a while since I’ve done racing at an international level. (Brennan left Europe after the Davos World Cup races in mid-December, spending the last six weeks near her home in Park City, UT.) I’m really hoping that the effort today was what I needed to just get back into things and find a better place ,because I certainly have had some workouts that have indicated that I’m in good shape. So I do want more and I think I can get more. I’m really looking forward to the other races.”
Behind Brennan, Hailey Swirbul finished in 40th (+5:28.8).
“It’s a lot of V1 skate, it’s hard,” Swirbul said in the mixed zone in reference to the course, “It makes for fair racing but you have to be totally on your game. It didn’t feel like [you get a break] today, it was a tough day for sure.”
Hailey Swirbul transitions from classic to skate, fighting windy conditions on course during the women’s 15k skiathlon. (Nat Herz/FasterSkier-ADN)
When asked about taking part in the Olympics and the momentum of the team, Swirbul said, “It’s a hugely exciting time to be part of this team. We’ve shown over the last four years what we’re capable of. We will give everything we have out there. It feels like a relief that we made it here and that our team has been healthy and we prepared really well so far. A race is a race, no matter if it’s an Olympic or local race. It’s important to keep your head in the game, and be ready to fight no matter what.”
Hailey Swirbul (USA) embraces teammate Julia Kern (USA) after the skiathlon (Photo: NordicFocus)
Julia Kern rounded out the US finishers in 53rd position (+7:51.8). It was “windy and tough,” said Kern definitively. “That was a really tough race, probably the windiest race I’ve ever done. I had a ton of base layers on so I stayed warm, but the wind cools you right down on the downhill.”
Regarding her participation in the Games, Kern said, “It’s a dream come true, I’m really excited to see what we can do as a team for the rest of the Games. This is just the beginning.”
Julia Kern (USA) fights hard to the finish (Photo: NordicFocus)
The Canadian women made a strong showing in the top thirty, led by Cendrine Browne in 20th (+3:44.4). Not far behind her was Kathrine Stewart-Jones, matching her bib number and finishing in 23rd (+4:03.6). In a dramatic finish – essentially a forward fall across the line – Dahria Beatty finished 28th (+4:38.8), putting three Canadians in the top thirty. Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt was the fourth Canadian and finished 44th (+5:58).
Dahria Beatty (CAN) finished 28th in the 15 k skiathlon (Photo: NordicFocus)
Racing for Australia, APU’s Jessica Yeaton finished just outside the Top-30 in 31st (+4:40.3).
Australia’s Jessica Yeaton (bib 53) races to 31st in the women’s 15k skiathlon, which opened the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. (Nat Herz/FasterSkier-ADN)
The men will race a 30 k skiathlon tomorrow, and the next women’s event will be the freestyle sprint on February 8th. You can find a detailed schedule for the Olympic cross-country events, including how to watch, here.
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.
Again the capstone of the Tour de Ski, athletes faced the infamous and grueling hill climb up the Alpe Cermis in Val di Fiemme, Italy to close out six stages of racing over eight days. After winding roughly 6.5-kilometers along the valley floor, a gradual climb leads to the alpine ski area, where 418 vertical meters (~1,370’) of incline spread over the final 3k awaits, snaking up an alpine ski area with maximum grades over 40%.
The profile of the point-to-point hill climb up the Alpe Cermis, the capstone of the Tour de Ski. (Photo: Screenshot 2022 FIS Broadcast)
Heading into the final stage, Jessie Diggins sat in sixth place in the overall Tour standings, facing a deficit of 1:42 to leader Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS). Quickly reviewing the blur of racing over the last week, Diggins had two stage victories, first in the opening skate sprint in Lenzerheide and again in the 10k mass start free in Oberstdorf, her career best start to the Tour. However, a crash in the quarterfinal in Stage 4, followed by a challenging 10k mass start classic in Stage 5, turned the tide on Diggins’ status as a favorite to win the overall Tour.
Over the last 15 years of the Tour de Ski, nine of the winners entered the final stage in the lead, including the winners of the last three iterations, namely Diggins in 2021, Therese Johaug (NOR) in 2020, and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (NOR) in 2019. The last upset occurred in 2018, where Heidi Weng (NOR) overcame a minimal two second deficit to overtake Østberg in the hill climb and snag the overall Tour victory.
An ecstatic Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) celebrates her overall victory in the 2021/22 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
With this in mind, perhaps today’s storyline was already written: Nepryaeva’s lead of 1:12 over second place Ebba Andersson (SWE) looked, from a historical perspective, like more than enough to seal the fate of the Tour. With two second-place finishes on her resume, a win would make Nepryaeva the first Russian woman to win the Tour de Ski.
But it would still need to be decided who would be the first woman to the top of the hill, and by how much. Perhaps the end result would not change, but in an event more about grit than technique or tactics, anything could happen.
At the base of the hill, it was Heidi Weng (NOR) leading the way with Ebba Andersson matching her V1 stride for stride. Diggins sat near the front of the lead group, which also contained Nepryaeva, Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN), and Kerttu Niskanen (FIN).
Spectators highlighting the steepness of the Alpe, Heidi Weng (NOR) and Ebba Andersson (SWE) race to the line in the final hill climb during Stage 6 of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
As the grade increased, Andersson and Weng began to trade off in the lead, climbing perfectly in sync as the field behind them began to thin. Pärmäkoski was 3.3 seconds back at 7.5, with Nepryaeva now 9.8 seconds back. Again, with 1:12 to play with between herself and Andersson, and 1:40 to Weng who entered the final stage in fifth, Nepryaeva did not need to worry about her placement in the final stage; her overall win was safe so long as she kept herself within that margin of the other women.
Between 7.5 and the subsequent 9.2k, Weng and Andersson put another 15 seconds on Nepryaeva, who trailed 18.1 seconds behind in third, now ahead of Pärmäkoski.
Skiing her way from 11th into 5th, within striking distance of Pärmäkoski, was 21-year-old Sophia Laukli (USA). Laukli skied with high tempo, somehow accelerating relative to those around her despite the fatigue and lactate that must have been flooding each of their bodies after climbing for so long at that effort. Also moving up on the steepest grades, Novie McCabe (USA) had picked off four places between 7.5 and 9.2k, skiing from 13th into 9th. Still fighting, but perhaps not with the same fury we saw last year when she raced for the win, Diggins had faded from 8th place into 14th.
Heidi Weng (NOR) accelerates in the final kilometer to drop Ebba Andersson (SWE) and take the win in the hill climb. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Over the final 0.8k, it became clear that Weng, who has a history of strong finishes in the hill climb, had been biding her time. With Andersson no longer able to match, she accelerated off the front with confidence. Andersson did not respond to the move, and Weng skied away to win by 7 seconds in a time of 35:41.2.
Weng was the overall Tour winner in 2017 and 2018, each time skiing the fastest time of day in the hill climb. After a 2019/20 season where her results could most-kindly be described as “off”, Weng was fourth overall in the Tour but second up the hill in 2020. The Norwegians did not compete in the Tour de Ski last year in 2021.
After working together through the first 9.2k, Heidi Weng (NOR) took the win in the hill climb ahead of Ebba Andersson (SWE). (Photo: NordicFocus)
Weng’s win in the hill climb moved her from fifth into third in the overall standings behind Andersson in second, her first time back on the overall Tour podium since her win in 2018. It’s Weng’s fourth time being on the Tour podium, having also achieved a third place result three consecutive years in 2014-2016.
“It was very hard today, when it’s mass start it’s chaos,” Weng told FIS at the finish. “I wanted to be first at the bottom of the hill, so I tried to get out fast, so it was good that Ebba was with me. It was very steep today and the snow was not as easy as yesterday, so it was a very hard hill today and I was very happy that I [could go fast] and I just tried to stay focused on the finish line.”
Today’s queen of the hill, Heidi Weng (NOR) won the final stage of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski, advancing to third in the overall standings. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Powering through the final kilometer, Claudel Delphine of France made her way from 6th at 9.2k onto the stage podium, overtaking Nepryaeva to finish third (+28.5). Solidifying herself as the overall Tour champion, Nepryaeva was fourth to the top of the Alpe, 32.3 seconds behind Weng and well within the margin needed for the accomplishment.
Claudel Delphine (FRA) celebrates a third place finish in the hill climb, while Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) crosses in fourth for the overall Tour victory. (Photo: NordicFocus)
During her four previous years of racing the Tour, Nepryaeva has been on the podium twice, finishing second in 2019 and 2020. Finally on top, eyes smiling behind her N95, Nepryaeva shrieked with joy as she stepped onto the podium to accept her trophy, hopping up and down as she raised her skis and poles in celebration. The FIS broadcast did not include a post-race interview.
After two second-place finishes, Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) is the winner of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Next to the top of the mountain was Laukli in fifth (+49.9), followed by Pärmäkoski in sixth (+59.9), and McCabe in seventh (+1:04.4). Americans have a strong history on the hill climb, with Liz Stephen skiing the fourth fastest time of day in 2015, the third fastest in both 2014 and 2016, then peaking at the second fastest time in 2017. Laukli and McCabe are in good company.
“It felt pretty good!” an enthusiastic McCabe told U.S. Ski & Snowboard cross country communications manager Tom Horrocks at the finish. “It was tough, obviously, but I am stoked about it.”
Novie McCabe races to 7th in the Alpe Cermis hill climb. (Photo: NordicFocus)
McCabe explained that she had followed Laukli through the valley runout and into the hill climb, knowing her teammate was looking to be in good position as they reached steep sections.
From there, McCabe was “just trying to keep moving around people without flooding [with lactate] on the way up.”
For Laukli, the result “was quite a shock.”
“After yesterday, I was extremely tired, so it was a bit of a 180,” she told Horrocks after the race. “I was really, really, looking forward to this race though. I knew this was my style of a course… I tried to stay chill and ski it tactically well, and I was able to start the climb with a lot of energy.”
Laukli explained that through the first 6k, she had sat in the draft of the women in front of her. With “super fast skis”, this allowed her to do minimal work before the hill began to pick up.
Full audio interview with Novie McCabe and Sophia Laukli, hosted by Tom Horrocks.
Sophia Laukli skis her way to 5th in the final hill climb of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
While arguably not comparable to other World Cup races, these results are nonetheless career-best finishes for both Laukli and McCabe, leaving them confident in their fitness as they head into a recovery block.
Making relentless forward progress in the face of the Tour’s challenges, Diggins crossed the line in 15th (+2:06.1), pushing her down the overall standings to a final placement of eighth (+3:15.8).
“This was one of the hardest days of many years for me,” Diggins said in the mixed zone. “I’m just so proud to have finished. The last few days I have been really having to fight through a lot.”
Full audio interview with Jessie Diggins, recorded from the mixed zone by Tom Horrocks.
Still smiling after a challenging Tour, Jessie Diggins finished 15th in the final hill climb. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Ever-focused on the importance of those around her, Diggins emphasized how proud she was of her support team and teammates, before concluding, “It’s always a good feeling to have finished something so hard.”
Outside the Top-30, Alayna Sonnesyn was the final American finisher in 36th (+3:46.1) of the 46 Tour finishers.
Making her way through the long-haul of racing, Sonnesyn explained that she is “ready for a nap.”
“It’s definitely been a tough Tour for me and I was hoping for a lot more going into it,” she told Horrocks after the race. “But Jessie gave the advice last night to only allow positive thoughts during the hill climb, and that’s what I did. There were many times where I felt like I could stop, but I told myself to keep going, and I’m proud of that.”
Full audio interview with Alayna Sonnesyn, hosted by Tom Horrocks.
Katharine Ogden did not start the hill climb, instead hopping aboard a plane for Salt Lake City, UT to race the 15k interval start classic, the final event of the U.S. National Championships in Soldier Hollow.
The 2021/22 Tour de Ski Podium: Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) took her first overall win ahead of Ebba Andersson (SWE) in second and Heidi Weng (NOR) in third. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Taking a final look at the overall tour standings by cumulative time and points, Nepryaeva was the overall winner by a margin of 46.7 seconds ahead of Andersson in second, and Weng in third (+1:07.7).
In the point standings, which favor sprinters and those chasing the bonus point opportunities that arrive at early checkpoints in distance races, Johanna Hagström (FIN) took the win with 60 points, narrowly beating Diggins in second with 59. Hagström finished second in the classic sprint in Oberstdorf, and eighth in the freestyle sprint in Lenzerheide, but also collected 15 points in yesterday’s distance race and again from the combination of two bonus point opportunities today at 2.3 and 6.8k. Nepryaeva was third in the point standings with a total of 55.
Despite setbacks, Jessie Diggins finished second in the 2021/22 Tour de Ski point standings. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Not-quite-winter. The women’s 10-kilometer classic kicked off the final two stages of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.
After a day of rest, the Tour de Ski kicked off it’s final two stops in the mountains of northern Italy. After a dramatic freestyle sprint in Stage 4, there was a lot on the line with little time to go in the Tour for many of the women who lined up for today’s 10-kilometer mass start classic in Val di Fiemme. With blue skies and sunshine illuminating the spectacular Italian Dolomites, the stage was set for a spectator’s dream over the four lap course.
First, a quick look to the overall Tour standings to set the tone. Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) took the lead in Stage 4. With the 60-second time bonus for a sprint win, Nepryaeva entered Stage 5 with a 34 seconds lead on Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) in second, and 38 seconds ahead of Jessie Diggins (USA) in third.
A favorite for a second consecutive Tour win, Diggins led the standings heading into the fourth stage, during which she was taken out by Frida Karlsson (SWE) in the quarterfinals, losing vital time in the Tour standings. Karlsson was later disqualified for obstruction and withdrew from the Tour after being issued a three minute time penalty that put her out of contention for the overall win.
While Diggins typically responds well to pressure and has put together impressive performances up the final hill climb, the classic tracks in Val di Fiemme have historically challenged Diggins, who would need to minimize time lost in order to still be in a position to fight for the overall win in the final stage. In last year’s Tour, Diggins was 10th in the 10k classic in Val di Fiemme, 17th in 2020 and 2019, and 4th in 2018. The odds were, perhaps, not in her favor, but the potential was there.
Athletes take to the tracks for Stage 5 of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski, a mass start classic in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Within the race, there were two opportunities for bonuses, one for Tour points and one for bonus seconds. These opportunities arose at 2.3 and 6k, respectively.
As racers took to the course, the congestion of a mass start was apparent. A pole snapped within the first minute as racers jostled for position in the lanes before settling in.
As the second lap started, a gap began to form behind a large lead pack of about 14 women, which included Diggins, Nepryaeva, and Niskanen. The lead women created a roughly eight-second lead on the chase pack at 3.5k.
Heidi Weng navigates fast and icy corners during the 2021/22 Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: NordicFocus)
At the halfway mark a group of six skiers began to thin out the lead group, led by Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN), Heidi Weng (NOR), Ebba Andersson(SWE), Katharina Henning (GER), Nepryaeva, and Teresa Stadlober (AUT). They opened up about a six-second lead on the chase pack which included Diggins and Niskanen.
As the women lapped through the stadium for the last 2.5k, this lead group, now led by Andersson, had stretched their lead to more than 20 seconds over the next chase pack.
Working together through most of the final lap, the group of six women skied together until the final climb before the stadium where Nepryaeva began to surge.
Charging up the hill and pushing hard over the top before dropping into a tuck, she quickly dropped the women in pursuit. Cruising through the stadium with a powerful doublepole, Nepryaeva had a comfortable lock on the win, stopping the clock with a fist pump in 29:51.3.
Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) takes the win in Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)Fighting for second and third, Heidi Weng (NOR) overtakes Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN). (Photo: NordicFocus)
In second at the top of the climb, but gaining ground in the descent and double pole, Weng pulled ahead of Pärmäkoski to finish second (+3.7), with the Finn just behind in 3rd (+4.7). The remainder of the lead group skied through the finish evenly spread with Andersson in 4th (+7.5), Henning in 5th (+10.9), and Stadlober 6th (+14.3).
The women’s podium after Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski. Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) took the win ahead of Heidi Weng (NOR) in second, and Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN) in third. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In a FIS Interview, Nepryaeva was asked how she felt about the race and about the course. “I am really happy to win here, it is a really important place for me, as it was my first win at World Juniors here.”
Outside the lead group and fighting hard to minimize time lost, Diggins crossed the finish line in 13th (+58.0). Diggins explained after the race that the icy conditions in Val di Fiemme were tricky for many of the women racing, as the speed checks needed to stay in control through the downhills in mass start conditions also cost them some grip in the final laps.
“I think it was one of those [days] where I had to really catch myself and be thinking really, really hard about standing tall and thinking about technique, which is harder for me in classic,” Diggins explained post-race. “I’m really proud of staying in the moment and never giving up and doing what I could with what I had.”
Never a question of whether she has given her all, Diggins crosses the line in 13th in Stage 5. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Looking ahead to the Alpe Cermis, where her time deficit may prove insurmountable, Diggins once again showed her never-give-up attitude
“I’m excited. It’s so hard, but it’s such a feeling of accomplishment making it to the top of that mountain… You can rest assured I will be crossing that finish line with nothing left.”
Full audio clip from Jessie Diggins, interviewed on-site by Tom Horrocks, U.S. Ski & Snowboard cross country communications manager.
Katherine Ogden skis to 31st in Stage 5 of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Missing the Top-30 by just 13 seconds, Katherine Ogden raced to 31st (+2:17.4) as the next American finisher. Also with strong finishes, Novie McCabe crossed the line in 36th (+2:38.3) just ahead of her teammate Sophia Laukli, who took 39th (+2:57.7). Alayna Sonnesyn rounded out the women in stars and stripes in 51st (+5:32.1).
Post-race interview with Katharine Ogden and Novie McCabe, interviewed by Tom Horrocks.
Sophia Laukli skis to 39th in Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Looking back on the bonus opportunities, Johanna Hagström (SWE) made a move just before the 2.3k point bonus to pull away from the pack to snag the maximum of 15 points. Pärmäkoski and Weng tied for second to both get 12 points. Diggins crossed the 2.4k mark in 8th, earning 3 bonus points.
At the 6k time bonus opportunity, Andersson was the first over the line, giving her 15 bonus seconds in the tour. Weng was able to continue her bonus streak on the day by crossing second and getting a 12-second bonus, while Pärmäkoski crossed in 3rd for 10 bonus seconds. Nepryaeva finished in 5th, collecting six seconds.
After today, Nepryaeva was able to not only hold on to her lead in the Tour, but expand it. Now leading Andersson by 1:12 seconds, heading into the final stage of the tour tomorrow. Diggins dropped down to sixth place from third, now behind by 1:42.
Alayna Sonnesyn skis to 51st in Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The final stage of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski, the infamous Alpe Cermis hill climb, kicks off at 11:30 CET / 5:30 EST.
The women’s podium after Stage 4: Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) took the win ahead of Johanna Hagström (SWE) and Johanna Matintalo (FIN). (Photo: NordicFocus)
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.
Every Grand Tour must have a Queen Stage. Dreamt up by organizers, meant to stand at the crux of the race, animate its characters, and start the action towards resolution in the narrative that’s formed over its early stages.
In cycling, these are the iconic places where grand settings meet grand drama – Alpe d’Huez, Mt. Ventoux, or the Angliru. The Queen Stage comes with pomp and circumstance, like a coronation or diamond jubilee.
At this year’s Tour de Ski though, the Queen Stage in Oberstdorf — and this 1.2-kilometer Classic Sprint proved to be just that — was more like a queen’s address to parliament; an agenda laid out for how this Tour will go into its final stages in Val di Fiemme, Italy, negotiated through the tricky rules, regulations, and politics of ski racing on the World Cup.
Alayna Sonnesyn (USA) during qualifying in Oberstdorf at Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Coming into the day, there was a set order in this year’s Tour de Ski overall classification that matches what you would expect if you just watched the races individually. After a Stage 1 victory in the freestyle sprint, and an exciting 10k freestyle victory yesterday, Jessie Diggins (USA) wore the yellow leader’s bib. Below her was Stage 2 winner Kertuu Niskanen (FIN), and then Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) in third. The time gap between the three, however, was relatively small. Diggins, despite her two wins, only had a 13 second advantage over Niskanen. With time bonuses for the finalists and semi-finalists in the Stage 4 Classic Sprint all well above that threshold — ranging from 60 sec for the winner to 22 sec for the last semi-finalist finisher — the 1.2k loop at Oberstdorf had the potential to animate and transform the overall classification in an instant. And that’s what happened. Call it a Queen Stage.
Kerttu Niskanen (FIN), who started and finished the day in 2nd place in the overall classification. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The day started strong for the Americans, with Diggins qualifying 7th (+3.43) and Katharine Ogden joining her in heats after qualifying 26th (+7.94). Diggins’ two closest rivals both qualified off her pace, with Nepryaeva in 13th (+5.08) and Niskanen in 18th place (+6.10).
Katharine Ogden (USA) powers up the first climb during quarterfinal action. Ogden qualified 26th on the day. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Ogden would meet Nepryaeva in her quarterfinal, where they set out to race a 1.2k sprint course that featured two punctuated climbs, with a technical downhill sweeping to the right in between. Their heat was a fast one, with Ogden establishing herself in the field behind Anamarija Lampic (SLO), then coming off the top of the first climb in fourth place. As the field spread out across the second climb, Nepryaeva came off the top first, with Lampic in tow. When they came out of the downhill into the long, straight, finishing straight, Nepryaeva had the lead, but Lampic showed a fight to regain her 2nd place ahead of Greta Laurent (ITA). In the excitement, Ogden had been left out of the pack slightly, and came across the line in 5th place.
Where this Tour really turned on its head though, was in Diggins’ quarterfinal heat. Lined up against a field that included qualifier winner Johanna Matintalo (FIN), Tatiana Sorina (RUS), and Frida Karlsson (SWE), the heat was a tense affair from the gun. Sorina led out over the first climb, and Diggins successfully jockeyed for position coming out of the first downhill. In the approach to the final climb, a slight left-hand turn became the setting for the defining moment of the day.
As Diggins recounted in an interview with U.S. Ski & Snowboard cross country communications manager Tom Horrocks:
“I was in the track, Frida [Karlsson] was double-poling outside the track, and then moved in on me, so I moved to switch lanes, she switched on top of me, and caused me to fall – which is a huge bummer… that severely impacts my tour.”
Jessie Diggins goes down in her quarterfinal heat. Frida Karlsson (SWE) was penalized for obstruction, but the fall left Diggins in 3rd place overall in the Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
It severely impacted the World Cup season too. Diggins crossed the line in 6th, but before the following heat had hit the first climb the FIS jury had already come back with a yellow-card and disqualification for Frida Karlsson. As a result of it being Karlsson’s second yellow-card of the season, her first arriving in the same event in Ruka back in November, she was also given a 3-minute time penalty in the overall classification for the Tour de Ski.
That calls to question whether the World Cup’s best distance racer this season will continue to race the Stage 5 10k mass start classic in Val di Fiemme or forgo the end of the Tour altogether. While she started the day in 7th place and +45 sec off Diggins, the 3-minute penalty dropped her to 44th place (+4:30).
Despite the penalties against Karlsson, Diggins’ quarterfinal time and placing were unaltered, leaving her out while both Niskanen and Nepryaeva advanced to the semi-finals, where the time bonuses for just finishing automatically exceeded the margin of Diggins’ lead in cumulative time standings. Diggins was awarded a 4 sec bonus for her quarterfinal finish, so a net 18 sec gain was at least guaranteed. In an instant then, two of the World Cup’s most compelling stories this season veered towards drastically off course. Diggins’ title-defense now faces steep odds (and a steep climb in Stage 6). Karlsson finds herself further down in the pack than she has been all year.
The semi-finals then, marked a brave new Tour de Ski.
Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS), Greta Laurent (ITA), Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN), and Ane Appelkvist Stenseth (NOR) (L-R) during their semi-final. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Nepryaeva raced through her semi-final with a tactical approach carried over from the quarters, preferring to stay with the pack led out by Matintalo and Johanna Hagström (SWE), before pushing the last climb and setting herself up for the long double-pole finish – for which she looked stronger than anyone else in the field. She won a semi-final that stayed tight and stayed fast, sending both lucky losers to the final.
Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) in 2nd semi-final. She would finish 5th in the heat, with Anamarija Lampic (SLO) winning to advance to the finals. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Niskanen would line up in the second semi-final. She matched up against Lampic, Laurent and Mathilde Myhrvold (NOR), with the former two looking to lead the race from the gun. By the time they crested the final climb, Lampic had stretched out the field and Niskanen had been caught out the back. She finished fifth in the heat, and didn’t advance to finals. Lampic carried the heat, and Myhrvold came second.
Nepryaeva then, would be playing a game of seconds for the Tour lead. And she would be playing it, skiing the course, like she had all day. Lampic, Hagström and Matintalo formed the front of the pack, while Nepryaeva waited for the last climb to swing out and throw a burst of acceleration that saw her and Hagström come over the top together. As Nepryaeva came out of her tuck on the finishing stretch, the strength of her double pole was on full display. She crossed the finish line first, and with a scream that no doubt will echo all the way to Val di Fiemme to warn that there is a whole new dynamic coming to its courses when the Tour resumes after the rest day tomorrow.
Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) comes across the finish line to win Stage 4 and take the lead in the Overall Classification at the Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
That new dynamic is a new order. Standings going into Italy: Natalia Nepryaeva in first (53:40.0), Kerttu Niskanen in second (+34.0), and Jessie Diggins third (+38.0).
Johanna Hagstroem (SWE), Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS), Johanna Matintalo (FIN) on the podium in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
With two stages to ski though, the gaps in this year’s Tour de Ski are nowhere from definitive. When it was alluded that her misfortune may change her tactical approach to the last two stages in Italy, Diggins replied simply, “it’s still full throttle everyday. It has to be.”
Full audio clip from post-race interview with Jessie Diggins, hosted by Tom Horrocks:
The Queen Stage of Oberstdorf may have made its sound and fury, but ultimately this race and its story are far from their conclusion, and it still contains a character in Diggins who has proven so-often that she can make us throw out all of the books.
Jessie Diggins during qualifying at Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
After final results were decided, Diggins ended her day in 21st, with Ogden a few places behind in 24th.
Outside the Top-30, the U.S. had strong results in the qualifier. Alayna Sonnesyn finished in 43rd (+14.93), Novie McCabe finished in 54th (+18.45), and Sophia Laukli finished in 61st (+26.87).
Both Hailey Swirbul and Julia Kern have dropped from the Tour, each sharing on social media that they have a cold and are focused on recovery.
Novie McCabe during qualifying at Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.
Returning to the kick and glide after a long hiatus, the second stage of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski featured a 10 k classic individual start for the women. With the exception of those who raced the classic legs of the relay in Lillehammer on December 5th, the last classic race was over a month ago, taking place at the season opener in Ruka. To keep things interesting, for the athletes, for the technicians and for the viewers, the temperature in Lenzerheide, Switzerland hovered around 34°F and snow fell heavily. Wax and ski preparation is always incredibly important but not always as evident as it was today as the women completed the 10 kilometer course.
After all 81 skiers had crossed the finish line, it was Kerttu Niskanen of Finland who stood at the top of the podium, having completed the course in 27:04.0.
Kerttu Niskanen celebrates a snowy victory in Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
To rewind, with Therese Johaug not taking part in the Tour, it is fair to say that Frida Karlsson of Sweden was a strong favorite to win this race. Karlsson has finished on the podium in all four distance events of the season so far, taking first place in the only classic distance event of the season up to this point in Ruka. With her main rival not in competition, Karlsson might have been hoping to ski away with another title.
Frida Karlsson (SWE) on course in Lenzerheide during a snowy 10k interval start classic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
From the start, it was clear that Ebba Andersson (SWE) wasn’t going to make things easy for her teammate. Andersson, who started in bib 29- one place ahead of Karlsson in bib 30, shot out of the gate with a tempo and ferocity that conveyed she meant business. At the 2.4 k checkpoint, there was an opportunity for bonus points in the Tour standings, and Andersson took the lead out of the first 29 starters, only to be quickly bettered by Karlsson by 0.9 seconds.
However, Karlsson’s advantage would not last and already at the 3.7k mark, she was +5.2 seconds behind Andersson. From there, the gap continued to widen. At 5.8 k Andersson was +13.7 seconds ahead of Karlsson, at 7.4 k she was +21.8 ahead and when both Swedes had crossed the finish, Andersson had put 26.4 seconds on Karlsson.
Ebba Andersson (SWE) races through falling flakes during the women’s individual start 10k classic in Lenzerheide. (Photo: NordicFocus)
At this point, it appeared that the day’s victor had been decided. But, as the snowflakes lessened and grew smaller, another contender was showing herself out on the course.
Niskanen (FIN) started in bib 50 and was clearly skiing well. As was Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia in bib 54. Nepryaeva was the second fastest through 2.4 k, slotting between Karlsson and Andersson. Niskanen was +7.8 down to Karlsson at that point in fourth position. Moving forward to 3.7k, Niskanen skied up to third, +5.2 to Andersson, while Nepryaeva had dropped to +8.5. Through 5.8k, Niskanen had overtaken Karlsson’s time and was sitting in second, just +4.8 behind Andersson. Between 7.4 and 8.7k, the Finn turned on the burners, gaining 12.6 seconds on Andersson over that distance. Accompanied by the excited shouts of her coach, Niskanen took the lead and continued to grow the margin. When she crossed the finish line she was +18.2 seconds ahead of Andersson and +44.6 ahead of Karlsson.
Kerttu Niskanen on her way to win the women’s 10k individual start classic in Lenzerheide. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Nepryeava (RUS), who dropped to fifth place at 7.4 k (+24 to Andersson) and was 4th (+32.9 to Niskanen) at 8.7k, gained significant ground over the final 1.3 kilometers. Between the 8.7 and 10k mark, she overtook Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN) to finish on the podium in third, +30.5 behind Niskanen.
The women’s podium for a snowy 10k individual start classic in Lenzerheide. Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) took the win ahead of Ebba Andersson (SWE) and Yulia Stupak (RUS). (Photo: NordicFocus)
This win was Niskanen’s third victory, having more than 230 World Cup starts. All three have come in 10k classic events, two taking place in Lenzerheide (today’s race being one, the other in 2014 when she won the stage).
“Today was a really good day,” Niskanen told FIS after the race. “I felt good and my skis were working well. I usually enjoy high altitude so today was good.” In response to a question about the conditions she said, “we have really good waxing men, they have done really good work yesterday and today.”
Diggins pushes through the final meters to finish 16th in Lenzerheide. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Jessie Diggins was the first finisher for the American contingent in 16th position (+1:07.9). Whether it was the four rounds of sprinting yesterday, the skis and conditions today, or some combination of both, Diggins appeared to be lacking in her usual pep, though she fought hard to the line, as always.
In a post-race interview with U.S. Ski & Snowboard cross country communications manager, Tom Horrocks, Diggins talked about how the team handled trying conditions with down to the wire work by the techs to select the best skis for the day.
“Everyone stayed really calm and collected, on a day when it would have been easy to panic and waste a ton of energy,” Diggins explained. “Really zoning in on process goals has always been [important] for me, and days like this, it’s really clear why that is so important.”
Diggins also provided into her pacing in today’s stage, and how her ability to adapt to the variable conditions and kick by jumping out of the track, running, or double poling are a testament to her progress in classic skiing, as she feels she may have been unable to adapt as seamlessly even four years ago.
Full audio interview with Jessie Diggins hosted by Tom Horrocks.
Hailey Swirbul was the next American, finishing 18th (+1:13.5), to match her bib number.
“I think today was a day that benefitted smooth, strong, steady skiing,” wrote Swirbul after the race. “I tried to stay calm out there and ski into it the best I could. Definitely a challenging course! I honestly didn’t have the greatest feelings in my body today, but I’ve learned that racing isn’t about feeling good… it’s about skiing your best and using your strengths even when it doesn’t feel good or rewarding. I think our skis were right in the mix on a day with tricky conditions, so that was awesome!”
Commenting on the team more broadly, Swirbul spoke to the perseverance of the American women in light of the variable conditions.
“Everyone worked really hard and persevered through a mentally and physically challenging day, and that’s something to be proud of!”
Hailey Swirbul races to 18th in Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski, a 10km interval start classic. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Novie McCabe was just outside the top thirty, in 34th position with a time of 28:50.6 (+1:46.6), followed closely by teammate Katharine Ogden in 35th (+1:47.4). Julia Kern finished 41st (28:58.3) and Sophia Laukli was 44th (+29:04.2). Rounding out the American finishers was Alayna Sonnesyn in 66th position (+3:14.1).
Post-race interview with Matt Whitcomb, from U.S. Ski & Snowboard cross country communications manager Tom Horrocks, discussing the men’s and women’s day in Lenzerheide.
Novie McCabe skis to 34th in Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Niskanen (FIN) now leads the overall Tour standings, with Diggins holding on to second +0:29 seconds back. Nepryeava (RUS) has moved into third, +0:35 behind Niskanen. The athletes get a break tomorrow before racing picks up again on Friday in Oberstdorf, Germany with a 10k mass start skate.
15 teams beginning the 4 x 5 k relay at the 2021 World Championships. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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.
Tension built, tension released, as the build-up to the women’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay at the World Championships began under a partly cloudy sky, light breeze, and what we’ve come to expect, warm temperatures at 54 degrees Fahrenheit. Modified race suits aside, the scramble leg ensued with a narrative none predicted.
With 15 teams beginning, and a handful realistically in the medal hunt, the scramble leg, for all practical purposes, did scramble the narrative.
Sweden won a nailbiter 4 x 5k relay at the 2019 World Championships. And with a team loaded with Jonna Sunding, Charlotte Kalla, Ebba Andersson, and Frida Karlsson, they at least, in the Monday-morning-quarterback discourse, seemed a medal contender if not a gold medal lock. Sundling, however, with slick kick, fell off the pace set by Tiril Udnes of Norway and Kirpichenko of Russia. She came through the 5 k mark to tag Kalla 12.5 seconds back of the Czech Republic in first, then Norway, RSF, and Canada’s mega-scramble performance by Katherine Stewart-Jones.
Charlotte Kala of Sweden raced the second leg for Sweden. The team lost ground on the scramble leg and were out of podium contention early on. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Focusing on Sweden here seems on point as they eliminated themselves from contention early on. Kalla, the storied Olympic and World’s champion, fell off the pace something hard on the second leg and landed with a thud. Be it poor ski speed or off-the-mark fitness on the day, the sand through the hourglass flowed freely in terms of Sweden’s time back. Kalla handed Andersson, bronze medalist on Tuesday’s 10 k skate, a whopping 1:39 deficit.
Kalla tagging off to Ebba Andersson: leg two to leg three. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In a relay where first place was a foregone conclusion mid-way into the third leg, we might as well jump to the win. Therese Johaug was tagged with a 2.6 second lead over Russia’s Tatiana Sorina. For their part, Yulia Stupak kept Russia in the hunt as did a coy leg by Heidi Weng, as the Norwegian pulled in front of Russia near the conclusion of her leg with a burst of fast-paced climbing.
Norway’s Therese Johaug dominated the third leg to ensure a Norway win. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Around the 12 k mark, Johaug pulled away with her iconic turnover. The race for gold over barring a catastrophic fall. Johaug tagged U23 skier Helene Marie Fossesholm with a 19.8-second gap to Natalia Nepryaeva for Russia. Nepryaeva held on for silver, stopping the clock 26.6 back.
Norway wins the 4 x 5 k relay with Helene Marie Fossesholm anchoring. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This left the bronze medal up for grabs until the final meters.
Rewinding to the second leg, Swirbul for the U.S. kept it close until roughly 3 k, when she faded from the leaders. She tagged Maubet Bjornsen off, 14.5-second back in ninth place. Maubet Bjornsen kept it calm and held those in front within sight. Skiing with poise and patience, Maubet Bjornsen was 11 second out of third at 7.5 k. Not a kilometer later she had latched onto the Czech Republic’s Petra Novakova in third.
At the 10 k tag, when the skate legs began, Maubet Bjornsen, Germany, and Switzerland were grouped about 27 seconds behind Norway, while Finland came through in sixth, five-seconds after the American.
Maubet Bjornsen pain-caving on leg two of the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Swirbul recovers after the grind of a scramble leg. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Brennan charged. She led Germany’s Pia Fink through the 12.5 k checkpoint in third. Finland’s timeless Riitta-Liisa Roponen was fifth, nine seconds behind the American-German pairing. Tagging off for the final leg, Germany, Finland, and the U.S. tagged off third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, with no significant time gaps between them.
Rosie Brennan racing leg three for the U.S. (Photo: NordicFocus)Brennan tagging Diggins and Ropenan tagging Pärmäkoski for the anchor leg drama about to unfold. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Victoria Carl for Germany, Krista Pärmäkoski for Finland, and Jessie Diggins for the U.S. began a 5 k hunt for bronze. Like Brennan before her, Diggins took over the pacing, with Pärmäkoski and Carl close behind. Not until late in the leg did Carl fall off Diggins’ pace.
For readers of FasterSkier, Diggins is well known. Yet if Pärmäkoski was off your radar, we’re here to fill you in. At the 2018 Olympics, she won two individual bronze medals; one in the skiathlon, the other in the 10 k skate. She won silver in Korea too in the 30 k mass start. She has won five World Cups, all, however, in classic technique. Since 2011 she has 27 World Cup podiums.
Diggins driving the pace followed by Pärmäkoski and Carl. (Photo: NordicFocus)
By her standards, the thirty-year-old Pärmäkoski has had an off-year. She has no individual podiums, yet she did finish fifth overall in the Tour de Ski. She’s been consistent, by all measures, but missing her podium gears. She finished 13th overall in this week’s championship 10 k skate when Diggins just missed a medal when she placed fourth. Diggins bested the Finn’s time in that race by 52 seconds.
Again, on paper, Diggins takes this leg and the Americans in for their first championship 4 x 5 k relay hardware.
This is why they race. To see how it all unfolds. With Carl shaken off, it was Diggins and Pärmäkoski bronze medal hunting. Diggins’ tactic was full-steam ahead, leading Pärmäkoski until the closing few hundred meters. Pärmäkoski, sat tight, only showing her presence a few times on the American’s periphery.
Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski on a late-race move to pull ahead of Diggins. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Up the final leg-quivering climb a final time, Diggins came over a second ahead of Pärmäkoski and at 51:37 into the race Diggins briefly glanced back. Pärmäkoski was still there.
On the plateau above the climb, you could hear U.S. Ski team Head Coach screaming encouragement. Diggins continued to lead, both skiers noticeably fatigued from the effort ascending to the course high point.
Working and tucking down the sinuous and technical downhill, the two skiers mirrored one another. In a furious pace heading into the final short climb before the stadium, Pärmäkoski revealed herself directly to the side of Diggins. Pärmäkoski carried her speed and passed Diggins and led up the final buckling climb. Pärmäkoski descended first and entered the final straight with a four-meter gap. Pärmäkoski V2ed, Diggins pushed with a few free skate pulses and tried to eke out more speed as she too V2ed to the line.
Met by her Finnish squad, Pärmäkoski closed out for bronze (+46.2) with the U.S. in fourth (+47.0).
Down to the wire: Krista Pärmäkoski and Jessie Diggins (l-r). (Photo: NordicFocus)With the advantage down the straight, Pärmäkoski closes in for third, while Diggins takes fourth. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Pärmäkoski and pure emotion crossing the line. (Photo: NordicFocus)No more to give: Jessie Diggins after crossing the finish line in the 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The racing, if anything, was great. Down to the wire, it went, just falling on the favorable side for Finland in the medal count. If fans want solid racing regardless of the outcome, they got it. With the heavy task of shouldering U.S. hopes in the relay, Swirbul kept them in it, Maubet Bjornsen, Brennan, and Diggins sparked dreams of biting down on the elusive medal.
It was Swirbul’s first opportunity to be a part of a championship relay team at the senior level. “I was really proud I’m so proud to be part of it I don’t, it’s a weird feeling because we’re expected to feel sad with getting fourth place but I feel really proud of this team,” she told the U.S. Ski Team after the race.
For Maubet Bjornsen, in what is likely her final season of World Cup racing, she spoke of an unrivaled legacy in U.S. women’s 4 x 5 k relay’s that has come ever so close to the championship podium.
Maubet Bjornsen, pictured second here, during the women’s 4 x 5 k relay. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“For sure that the relays are the highlights of why I am still ski racing and I think it’s so cool to see everybody just give every bit that they can,” Maubet Bjornsen said to the USST. “Of course we’re shooting for medal and for about six championships in a row we know that it’s possible, if we get all the ducks lined up. “But you know, part of the game is getting those ducks lined up. And that’s how you keep coming back and fighting. For sure we are fit enough and if we get all those ducks running, man we’re coming for the world.”
At one point this season, Brennan wore the yellow bib as the overall leader of the World Cup. She adds another level of depth to a loaded U.S. team. “The relay is the race we have all been looking forward to and had some big goals around that event,” Brennan wrote in an email. “It was another hot day with really soft conditions. This is a team of gritty girls and a team that likes to lay it all out there. We skied that way today and tried our best to play our cards right. It is certainly bittersweet to be so close to that podium and not get there, but when everyone skis with that much grit, there isn’t much else you can do. I am personally a bit disappointed with my leg. I believe I am capable of a bit more than I showed today. It was surprisingly hard to get away from people with a significant draft in effect. My best card was to grind away from the others, so that’s what I did and I am disappointed I couldn’t have been more effective. This is the closest we have been to the goal of a podium and for that I am proud. I know if we keep showing up and trying, we will find our way there.”
All in: Diggins. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Diggins remains the face and spirit of a squad continually knocking on the podium door after four legs of relaying racing. In her post race comments, she explained race strategy is hardwired.
“I played the only part I had and I knew I had to ski like twice as hard as the girls that were with us,” said Diggins to the USST. “I did my absolute damnedest to drop them in the only place that I thought we could. I’m really proud of that…, Yeah it’s heartbreaking to come that close to a medal and know that fitness wise, we are so there. And I think that’s what’s really encouraging about this because that’s the only part that we can really control is coming into World Championships, knowing that our fitness is there, our minds are there, our tactics are there, and most importantly that we’re gritty enough.
“And we definitely are. So I think, for me, when you look at things we can control is how we skied that race. I’m so proud of it. That was an absolute championship performance from every single member of this team and not just from the people who were racing but people who weren’t racing. It’s heartbreaking to come that close and know that we’re there but also that’s, that’s part of the sport.”
The U.S women have placed fourth in World Championship relays in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2021. If the U.S.’s white whale remains the relay medal, it’s a big ocean out there. Tactics and fitness profiles will be analyzed. But, roughly 12 months from now when the Beijing Olympics go down, the relay socks will be pulled up and 4 x 5 k relay medal dreams will begin anew. Today, Finland gets the well-deserved podium spot.
The scene from an exchange during the World Championship team sprint in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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.
And now for something completely different. The skate team sprint.
Three roughly 1-kilometer loops each for 7.2 k total, relatively flat with just two brief upticks per lap, winding back and forth along the valley floor in Oberstdorf, Germany. Would the terrain be enough for one team to pull away from others or would it be an empty-the-tank last two laps, fighting for every centimeter?
From semifinal A, advanced the Swedish team of Maja Dahlqvist and Jonna Sundling, who won their heat by nearly two seconds ahead of the Russian Ski Federation (RSF), represented by Yulia Stupak and Natalia Nepryaeva, Norway, and Finland. Three teams finished within a second in Semifinal B, with Slovenia’s Eva Urevc and Anamarija Lampic edging out Rosie Brennan and Sadie Maubet Bjornsen for the U.S., and the Swiss Women, Laurien van der Graaff and Nadine Fähndrich. Germany and the Czech Republic also advanced from the second wave of semis.
Note that four teams advanced from each heat of the semifinals with the next two fastest times, a change from the usual top two teams plus six fastest times. This change was made based on the weather and conditions on the course.
Rosie Brennan marks Russia’s Yulia Stupak during the World Championship team sprint in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
So far in this World Championship, Brennan had only raced the classic sprint qualifier and Maubet Bjornsen not at all, perhaps leaving them fresh for this competition. American voices could be heard shouting words of encouragement as the women toiled around the course as a large group through the first four exchanges. At the third exchange at 3.6 k, the US was sitting in fifth, 2.3 seconds behind Sweden in the lead and in contact.
Slowly, Sweden began to turn up the dial, building intensity. However, as the final laps took off, any ground Dahlqvist gained on her competitors was closed as they descended off the first roller and headed into the primary climb of the course. It was here that RSF’s Stupak began to challenge, duking it out with Dahlqvist but unable to pull away.
Sweden’s Dahlqvist leads the way in the World Championship team sprint in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
After the final change, it was Sweden and RSF at the front, with a small gap to Norway, the U.S., and Switzerland with Slovenia a few meters back.
In the final lap, the tempo accelerated, poles whipped through the air, and any predictions of what might happen were laid wayside.
As Sundling tried to pull away, Fähndrich quickly closed the gap to the front, skiing at the Swede’s hip. Nepryaeva began to fall off the pace, and was being caught by Maubet Bjornsen and Lampic. Though Sundling and Fähndrich held ground at the front, the podium was within reach for each nation.
Rosie Brennan (USA) tails Eva Urevc (SLO) and Yulia Stupak (RSF) during the World Championship team sprint in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
At the top of the intermediate climb and on the outside of the left-hand curve, Maubet Bjornsen ski was caught in a tangle, dropping her to her knee and stalling her momentum at an inopportune moment. The American rebounded quickly but was no longer able to fight for the top spots.
Making their way for the last time up the primary climb, Sweden and Switzerland, alone up-front, created a small gap to Nepryaeva. Meanwhile, Lampic of Slovenia was closing in and looking strong.
The final moments of the World Championship team sprint in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sundling was first into the final lanes, with Fähndrich a ski length behind, matching but not able to overtake the Swede. The women soared to the finish with Sweden holding its ground for the win, Switzerland finishing just under a second behind for the silver medal.
Sweden’s Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist take home World Championship gold in the team sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“It was so fun to race today,” Dahlqvist told FIS after the race. “But it was hard too, the conditions were a little warm. It was easier in the qualification.”
Sundling was asked whether she knew how close behind Fähndrich was in the final meters.
“I heard there was someone behind me, but I just had my focus on the finish line and to cross it first.”
Fighting for bronze, Lampic out-sprinted Nepyraeva to bring home a medal for Slovenia (+3.46), leaving RSF in fourth (+3.95).
The women’s podium at the World Championship team sprint in Oberstdorf. Sweden took the win ahead of Switzerland and Slovenia. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The women of Sweden have made their sprint prowess well known this season and were favored to win their third World Championship medal in this event, piggybacking on the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld, Austria. Dahlqvist led the team there too, with Stina Nilsson as the anchor. Both members of today’s Swedish team were coming off of strong results in the opening classic sprint, where Sundling collected a gold medal.
The winners, Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist and Jonna Sundling, take in their team sprint victory in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
However, a medal for Switzerland and Slovenia, while not unexpected, is perhaps a more novel result. The duo of Van der Graaff and Fähndrich won the team sprint in Dresden, Germany earlier this season, but this is the historic first Swiss medal in the event and the first women’s medal for Switzerland since 1987, a bronze earned by Evi Kratzer in the 5k classic.
Laurien Van Der Graaf (SUI) watches her teammate, Nadine Fähndrich, bring home a silver medal for their team. (Photo: NordicFocus)Laurien van der Graaff and Nadine Fähndrich take silver for Switzerland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“We always said we want that medal,” Van der Graaff told the Swiss news outlet SRF. And now it’s there! No idea, the emotions are there. It’s incredible.”
Commenting on when they knew they could celebrate, Fähndrich replied, “I was only really sure when I crossed the line. She had tagged off to me in a great position, with only a little bit of a gap to [positions] one and two. Then I felt that those athletes around me tried a little to play tactical games, but I just thought no, I had to risk it because I felt good. I just knew ‘all out now’!”
Laurien van der Graaff and Nadine Fähndrich celebrate with their tech after earning a World Championship silver medal in the team sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Despite the size of their team and country, the Slovenian team of Urevc and Lampic took 3rd in Dresden and won the most recent World Cup team sprint in Ulricehamn, Sweden. Slovenia also took silver in the 2019 Championships in Seefeld. Taking home her second medal of this Championship, 25-year-old Lampic also leads the overall World Cup sprint standings.
Eva Urevc and Anamarija Lampic of Slovenia bring home a World Championship bronze medal in the team sprint in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)Sadie Maubet Bjornsen helps the Americans to a 5th place finish at the World Championship team sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Finishing alone, Maubet Bjornsen brought the American women home in fifth (+5.83), matching the team’s result in this event at the 2019 World Championships.
When asked if they were left wanting, Brennan gave an optimistic and grateful response:
“I’m actually really happy with it,” she said. “It’s been, quite literally, a career-long dream to do a team sprint with Sadie. She’s been a best friend and training partner for the entirety of my professional career, so I was just so happy and excited to even get this opportunity. I know that we are capable of more on any given day, but that’s ski racing — you go out there and you give it your all. Some days you win, some you don’t. But it was honestly a pretty special day for me.”
Rosie Brennan marks Russia’s Yulia Stupak during the World Championship team sprint in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Perhaps envisioning the hang-up in the last lap, Maubet Bjornsen discussed the degradation of the course between the semifinal and final. She explained that the tracks were fast, firm, and tactical in the final, becoming more dangerous as the transformed snow began to break down and accumulate on the surface. In these deeper conditions, Maubet Bjornsen explained that a skier must be aware of their equipment at all times to stay upright and powerful.
However, reflecting on their performance, she too focused on the positive, commenting on the years and hours the two have spent training and racing together throughout their careers, beginning as juniors.
Rosie Brennan and Sadie Maubet Bjornsen prepare for the World Championship team sprint in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: Tom Horrocks/USST)
“I feel like we skied an awesome race,” Maubet Bjornsen said. “Unfortunately, I got stepped on the first uphill which took me out of the draft and I couldn’t quite find the gear to come back to [the group]. Which is a bummer because my skis were incredible and I feel like if I would have been with those girls over the top of the second climb it could have been a medal day, but like Rosie said, you can never count on that, but I think it’s pretty cool that my number one training buddy and me were in a fight for a medal. That’s pretty neat. If you would have asked us that at 14-years-old, beating on each other, we would have laughed at you. So I think if we brought our 14-year-old selves here, we’d be pretty darn proud.”
A trip down memory lane. (Photo: Instagram @sbjornsen)
Same as it ever was – Therese Johaug with the off the front win. (Photo: NirdicFocus).
In case you missed the discussion on the Devon Kershaw podcast, the Norwegian team made its World Cup return today in Lahti, Finland after nearly two months of training and competing domestically. As predicted, neither their form nor racing gears have not been from this decision. The women in red went 1-2-3 in the 7.5/7.5-kilometer skiathlon, led by powerhouse Therese Johaug who notched her third consecutive win in the event and third career skiathlon win on the tracks in Lahti. Her total of nine career skiathlon wins is a women’s record, surpassing Johaug’s former teammate and one of the most decorated skiers of all time, Marit Bjørgen.
In her usual style, Johaug took command from the start, skiing away from the pack displaying remarkable precision in her technique and metronomic tempo, stopping the clock at 37:45.1.
Therese Johaug drives the pace during the classic leg of the Lahti skiathlon. (Photo: NordicFocus)
As has been remarked before, with the lack of spectators and commentary overlaying the live stream, it’s hard not to be struck by the intensity of the athletes’ breathing. As they kicked, glided, and skated six laps of the 2.5 k course, their lungs pumped at a rate and effort that seemed impossible to sustain. Yes, Johaug had a gap to the chasers from early on, but like the others, her rapid breathing made it abundantly clear that she did not simply walk away with the victory.
“It was so fun to be on the World Cup again,” Johaug told FIS after the finish. “It has been a long time since I was in Kuusamo [for the opening World Cup races in Ruka, FIN], so it’s really good to race here and see all the people in the cross country family again.”
Unlike the teams coming off a two-week break following the Tour de Ski, the Norwegian squad made a quick turnaround from their National Championships, which wrapped up just five days ago in Trondheim. Today’s skiathlon is the second this week that Johaug has raced and won. In fact, with only minimal rearrangement for the second and third spots, the podiums in the two events were identical.
The women’s 15 k skiathlon podium in Lahti, Finland: Helene Marie Fossesholm (NOR) second, Therese Johaug (NOR) first, and Heidi Weng (NOR) third, (l-r). (Photo: NordicFocus)
“My shape has been really good, now and the last weekend. Today, I know that I was starting in the line, so I knew to take it a little bit easy in the first lap and then go hard from the second and the third. I felt really strong today, and of course, I had to do all the job alone, and especially then, it’s really good to stand on top of the podium.”
Norway’s Heidi Weng and Helene Marie Fosseholm – lead the chasers during the skiathlon in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Perhaps the more interesting race to watch unfold happened behind Johaug. When the Norwegian began to pull away in her second classic lap, a small chase pack emerged in her wake, containing Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva, Sweden’s Ebba Anderson, and Jessie Diggins in stars, stripes, and the yellow overall World Cup leader bib. Diggins striding was strong and confident, as she tucked in behind the other two racers, entering the exchange zone at 7.5 k on their tails and smoothly switching into her skate skis and poles.
The eventual second and third-place finishers, Helene Marie Fossesholm of Norway followed by teammate Heidi Weng apex a corner during the skate leg. (Photo: NordicFocus)
As the first skate lap unfolded, Norway’s Helene Marie Fosseholm and Heidi Weng began to ski off the front of the second group of chasers, which contained names like Olympic champion in the Skiathlon Charlotte Kalla of Sweden and bronze medalist Krista Pärmäkoski of Finland. Wearing the red World Cup distance leader bib, Rosie Brennan also sat comfortably in this group.
Though only 29-years-old, Weng is a veteran compared to Fosseholm, who is only 19. Her results this season indicate she is a name to get to know; she finished 6th overall in the Ruka Triple, and proceeded to earn four podiums during her subsequent time racing on home turf, including a Johaug-like victory in the 10 k skate last week during the Norwegian National Championships, winning by a margin of over 30 seconds. Johaug did not contest this event.
By the 10 k mark, Fosseholm and Weng had caught the group of Andersson, Nepryaeva, and Diggins. The Russian began to fall off the pace, but Diggins was not about to follow suit. The women skated as a unit through the next lap, never separated by more than a second or two.
Jessie Diggins (USA) skiing behind Sweden’s Ebba Andersson and Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva on Saturday’s 15 k skiathlon in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)Jessie Diggins (USA) at the ski exchange 7.5 k into the women’s skiathlon alongside Ebba Andersson of Sweden and Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia. (Photo: NordicFocus)
As they left the stadium for their final lap, Fosseholm made a surge, testing her mettle against her more seasoned pursuers. With just over a kilometer to go, she had nearly a seven-second gap, which dissolved much faster than it was formed.
Andersson, Weng, and Diggins powered through the back half of the lap, steadily closing in on Fosseholm. Aerial shots showed the women charging up the final climb, still able to jump skate after nearly 40 minutes of exertion. They V2’ed over the top of the climb, all cylinders firing as they dropped back toward the stadium, around a couple of tight curves and toward the lanes.
Fosseholm could be seen taking nervous glances over her shoulder, knowing the other women had zeroed in their sights and there was no room for error. Luckily for Fosseholm, she had maintained enough real estate to enter the lanes with a clear path to second place (+28.1).
Behind her, it was still anyone’s game. Weng was first into the lanes, but Andersson was by her side and charging, Diggins just behind. With a furious throw of boots at the line, Weng snagged the third spot on the podium (+29.6) with Andersson centimeters behind in fourth (+29.7) and Diggins in 5th (+30.1).
Yellow bibbed Jessie Diggins double poles during the first leg of the 7.5 k / 7.5 k skiathlon. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In a post race interview, Diggins shared insights into the conditions in Lahti and how bomber kick on klister allowed her to ski what she identifies as one of her best classic races on the World Cup. With suboptimal glide in skate, Diggins had to shift her tactics so she could stay in the draft of those in front of her and ultimately left a final slingshot around Andersson and Weng to fight for the podium just out of reach.
“I was excited to dare greatly and try to stay with Johaug as long as possible, just to see and to really push it… In the skate half, it was nice to have those girls to work with. I had to keep adjusting my strategy as I realized how our glide stacked up to their glide. I had to keep changing it around, and I played the only card I had, tactically speaking. It didn’t really work, but it was the only thing I could do in the situation that I was in. I was really proud of that and I think I skied as smart of a race as possible.”
Jessie Diggins leaves everything on the course to finish 5th in the 15-kilometer skiathlon in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Diggins also discussed the team recovery camp in Seiser Alm, Italy, how she manages the balance of increased media attention with training and recovery and her desire to support meaningful causes like the Emily Program, and how “new blood” on the World Cup squad re-energizes the veteran members of the American team.
Maintaining her position in the second group of chasers, Brennan skied to 11th place (+1:07.6), ending her race just ahead of Kerttu Niskanen in a photo finish.
In focus and red bibbed as the World Cups leading distance skier, Rosie Brennan near the start of the 15 k skiathlon in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“It’s always hard to know how the body is going to bounce back from an event like the Tour de Ski,” wrote Brennan in an email after the race. “As a result, I decided to start controlled and then see what I had when I switched to skating. I felt much stronger in classic than I have all season and as a result maybe should have been more aggressive in the classic leg, but hindsight is always 20/20. After the transition to skate, my muscles struggled a bit, but I found better movements and strength as the skate portion went on. There wasn’t much space to move in the skate portion and I feel I missed some moves that I shouldn’t have, but had a strong final climb to move up a bit. In all, I feel this race was a really good step in the right direction for me as I am now focused on preparation for the World Championships.”
Rosie Brennan finishes strong in the chase pack for 11th place in the 15-kilometer skiathlon in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
A quick look to the overall World Cup ranks. With today’s results, Diggins remains at the top of the overall leaderboard with 991 points and also ties Brennan for the top spot in the distance standings with 401 points. Brennan remains in second place overall with 824 points, followed by Russia’s Yulia Stupak with 802 points.
In her first World Cup start, Sophia Laukli (USA) skis to 33rd in the Lahti, Finland skiathlon. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Also for the U.S., Sophia Laukli in her first World Cup start raced to 33rd (+3:54.8). Laukli is a member of the US Cross Country D-Team and is a sophomore at Middlebury College in Vermont. Caitlin Patterson was the next American in 37th (+4:33.8), Julia Kern 40th (+6:31.3), and Alayna Sonnesyn 43rd (+6:41.1). Forty-eight skiers finished the race.
This was Canada’s first World Cup appearance this season. Two athletes scored points, Katherine Stewart-Jones in 24th (+3:23.5) and Cendrine Browne in 27th (+3:44.9). Laura Leclair skied to 44th (+6:41.7).
The women’s 10 k classic mass start gets underway in the 6th stage of Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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.
With just three more races remaining in the 2021 Tour de Ski, the women toed the start line for today’s 10 k classic mass start. The conditions were a gift of stable bluebird weather, sub-freezing temperatures, and tracks mostly in shade against a backdrop of sun on the opposite side of the valley. Jessie Diggins of the U.S. started at the head of the crowd, wearing the yellow leader’s bib, with a lead of twenty-two seconds over teammate Rosie Brennan in the overall standings.
Out of the start gate, in the 6th stage of Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
As the race unfolded, however, it was not the tour leaders who took center stage. The pack largely stayed together for the first two of the four laps, until Ebba Andersson of Sweden took charge. Pushing hard out of the stadium onto the third lap, Andersson splintered the group. The Val di Fiemme course is notoriously difficult to pull away on though Andersson gave it her best shot. At 7.5 k she kept pressing her advantage though Katherina Hennig of Germany was only +1.5 seconds behind.
Ebba Andersson (SWE) controls the pace on her way to a third-place finish in the 10 k classic mass start. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
Eventually, Andersson was caught by Hennig and Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia. Cresting the final climb, Napryaeva had the advantage and she crossed the finish line in first, making today a double Russian victory. “It was a tough battle,” said Nepraeva through a translator, “I am very happy with the result and hope the shape is getting better.” Hennig took silver, her second career World Cup podium after finishing third last year in this same event. Andersson placed third.
Natalia Nepryaeva (RUS) poses for the cameras following her win in the 10 k classic mass start. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
In a translated interview with the German broadcaster ZDF, Henning said, “I wanted to get back on the podium some time. But I really wouldn’t have expected that it works out like that today. I wanted to orient myself towards the front of the pack, but then in the beginning of the race briefly had a problem behind Rosie Brennan who tangled up. So I had to invest a lot of energy to get back in front. That it then worked out in the end… I can’t really grasp it yet.”
Katharina Hennig (GER) strides her way to second for the German squad. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
For the Americans, Diggins ended the day in 9th place twenty-four seconds back, after fading over the last lap.
“Today was a big day for me in terms of mental toughness,” emailed Diggins. “My body was numb from the waist down for the entire last lap but I just kept digging deep because I knew every second counted and I had a job to do! I managed to hold on to the leader bib and with a classic sprint and the hill climb coming up, I’m really excited for both these stages and focused on getting all the little details of recovery right! I was proud of the grit I had out there today, but way more proud of the amazing Salomon skis our techs made me! Wow, that was key in today’s race. … Also, so hyped up for Gus! Race of the day for sure.”
Jessie Diggins gives it everything she has down the homestretch of the sixth stage in the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
Katharine Ogden notched her third top 20 finish of the tour (she placed 18th in the 10 k skate and 20th in the 10 k classic in Toblach) and finished in 19th (+1:12.3). Hailey Swirbul earned a few more points, finishing in 25th (+1:29.1) and Caitlin Patterson snuck into the top thirty with a 29th place (+1:51.8).
Following a tangle early on in the race, Brennan struggled to maintain her position going into the day, ultimately finishing in 31st place (+2:00.5). Julia Kern rounded out the U.S. women finishers in 42nd place (+4:08.3).
“Today was undeniably a tough day,” Brennan wrote post-race. “I was ready for a tough battle and had the confidence to do well today. However, I got tripped up on the second climb and got skied over by a lot of people before I could get up. Because it was so early, we were all still in a big pack and I worked really hard to try to pass people and get back to the front. I think I wasted a lot of energy doing that when my body didn’t have much extra left in the tank. I truly fought with all I had and I am very disappointed that I couldn’t do more out there. Tour racing always brings big up and big downs so I will do my best to pick up the pieces and continue to fight hard the next two days.”
Overall Standings:
Today’s Stage 6 results caused some ripples in the overall standings in the Tour. To recap, prior to Stage 6, Diggins had a 22 second lead over Brennan in second, a fifty-eight second buffer over Stupak in third, with Karlsson in fourth (+1:29).
After today’s day’s grind in Val di Fiemme, Diggins sits in first overall with a fifty-five second margin over Stupak in second. Karlsson moves up a position to third (+1:42). Brennan, who struggled on the stage, fell back to seventh overall (+2:11).
Racing continues tomorrow for the women with a classic sprint.
Jessie Diggins leads the pack during the team sprint in Dresden, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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.
Another lovely spring-like day in Dresden, Germany with vibrant green grass contrasting the ribbon of man-made snow along the Elbe River bank. On course in the women’s team sprint final, a ten-team affair became a relative runaway as it concluded.
For the uninitiated and new to the team sprint concept, two-athletes form a team, and they tag off to one another six times each. In other words, each athlete races a .65 k lap (one time around the Dresden course) and tags off to their partner. Each partner races six 0.65 k laps for a total of 7.8 k for the team. It is dizzying. And yes, it can seem like a blur of Lycra and skis and poles. Roller derby meets cross-country ski refinement is one way to describe it.
At the race’s midpoint, the racing blur was led by an upstart team from China, pulling the pack along in their yellow and red highlighted suits. Switzerland I, U.S. I, Slovenia, Russia I, and Germany I were separated by 2.8 seconds. Just enough time back for those in the rear to keep hope alive, and for viewers to see that no real breakaway and podium locks had been determined. We’ll call it semi-scrum in its organization.
Dinigeer Yilamujiang of China leads the women’s pack halfway through the team sprint in Dresden, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
5.2 k into the race, at the eighth exchange, Russia I played their hand as they burned fuel upfront. The race became a four-team affair with Russia I setting the pace, and Switzerland I, Slovenia, and the U.S. racing in the slipstream. This trend continued with the U.S. falling off slightly at 6.5 k, 1.4 seconds back. Not much time, but in a team sprint event, when drafting and maintaining a lock on those in front are key, it can appear to be a mighty gap.
Russia I continued it’s work up front and the pattern was set on the final tag. With 0.7 k to go, the Russians were up 2.3 seconds on the Swiss, 2.5 seconds on Slovenia, and 2.6 seconds on the U.S.
Natalie Nepryaeva of Russia takes charge in the second half during the team sprint in Dresden, Germany. Caldwell Hamilton tucks in just behind. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In that final lap, Fähndrich for the Swiss, reeled in Russia’s Nepryaeva, who at the onset seemed uncatchable, seized control of the front and took the win in 16:38.34 minutes. Nepryaeva crossed 0.32 seconds back to secure second for Russia I. Lampic crossed 1.12 seconds back for Slovenia’s third place. Caldwell Hamilton, slightly off the pace, finished in fourth (+3.01) for U.S. I.
Switzerland’s Nadine Fähndrich celebrates bringing home a team sprint victory with partner Laurien Van Der Graaff. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“I felt very good and saw that Natalia [Nepryaeva] was already a bit tired and I could catch up a lot from behind. So I had a very good feeling, and was hoping and fighting to make it happen today,” said Fähndrich to Swiss broadcaster SRF about her team’s last loop.
Laurien Van Der Graaff and partner Nadine Fähndrich take the win for Switzerland in the team sprint in Dresden, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Van der Graaff, Fähndrich’s teammate, added, “I knew I had to send off Nadine in a good position. So I fought and suffered on my last leg, and talked to myself the whole time ‘come on, just a little bit more until I can tag off to her’. We already saw yesterday that she’s in great shape, she’s the strongest athlete at the moment. And I knew in the end she’d make it.”
The women’s podium of the team sprint in Dresden Germany. Switzerland’s Laurie Van Der Graaf and Nadine Fähndrich took the win with Russia’s Yulia Stupak and Natalia Nepryaeva in second, and Eva Urevc and Anamarija Lampic of Slovenia in third. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sophie Caldwell Hamilton marks the leader around the bend during the team sprint in Dresden, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“We fought hard out there, and I am so proud of all our teams for giving it out best effort!” wrote Diggins in a post-race email. “Personally I struggled a bit with positioning on such a short and tactical loop, but I was proud of how I held my own in city sprinting on a course that challenged me in different ways! I thought we had great skis and it’s nice to feel that we’re working our way into better and better racing form.”
Both Caldwell Hamilton and Diggins were coming off of strong performances on the course in yesterday’s individual sprint event, finishing 2nd and 4th, respectively. Both seemed well matched for the flat and spicy course, with tight corners where the manmade snow crumbles to a dicey sugar.
Jessie Diggins in control over the rollers during the team sprint in Dresden, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“It was fast and furious out there today, as Dresden always is,” emailed Caldwell Hamilton. “I think Jessie and I both wanted to fight for a podium today and knew we were capable of it, but this race is a wild card and I think overall we skied quite well. For me personally, I always look back at these Dresden team sprints and wish I had skied more aggressively, but with so much carnage out there, you’re riding a fine line between aggressive and risky, so that sweet spot can be tricky to find. In hindsight, we can always find a small thing or two we would have done differently, but it’s still an effort I’m proud of and any time I get to team up with Jessie is an honor. Dresden hosted an exciting weekend as usual and now I’m looking forward to a little Christmas break in Seefeld!”
Jessie Diggins and Sophie Caldwell Hamilton celebrate a 4th place finish in the team sprint in Dresden, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Hannah Halvorsen and Julia Kern placed eighth in the final, 12.35 seconds off the winning time. The duop advanced to the final after placing fifth in the first semi-final. The top five teams from each semi advance to the finals.
Hannah Halvorsen faces off with Germany’s Laura Gimmler during the team sprint in Dresden, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus)
A quick look to the overall standings as Period 1 draws to a close: Despite sitting out the city sprints in Dresden, Rosie Brennan is still in charge of the yellow bib with 377 points. Missing this World Cup stop was part of Brennan’s season plan. Russia’s Tatiana Sorina trails by 41 points in second (334 pts), followed by Norway’s Therese Johaug in third (301 pts).
A ribbon of snow and a winter that never arrived in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In a typical season, you might expect late February in Lahti, Finland to look wintery. 61 degrees North latitude, ample snow on the ground and clinging to the trees, maybe even a reindeer? In fact, in a plug for the venue showed a woman skiing through a snow-laden town and arriving at the base of the towering ski jumps.
But it was not so today. Women time-trialed through the woods for two laps on a 5-kilometer ribbon of man made snow. Aerial shots of the venue told the story that winter had never arrived — green trees, bare ground, and an unfrozen lake.
“It’s sad that they have no natural snow, we’re not used to it,” Theresa Stadlober of Austria told FIS before her race. “But the conditions on the track are really good, so the organizers did a really good job and I think it will be a fair race today.”
Despite a low snow year (read: no snow year), the 5 k track in Lahti was as challenging as ever. (Photo: Screenshot FIS Broadcast)
Though some athletes, like Jessie Diggins and Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, chose to sit out the weekend of distance races following the wrap of the FIS Ski Tour 2020 across Scandinavia, the field remained relatively stout.
In fact, without Diggins, the top-10 for today’s stage looked alarmingly similar to the top-10 overall in the Tour.
Norway’s Therese Johaug, who won both the Scandinavian Ski Tour and the Tour de Ski, posted the fastest time on icy tracks in Lahti, finishing in 23:53.3. Her victory here was not a given. Her margins stayed tight at each checkpoint and a slowed down clip of her climbing a short punchy hill with a few k to go showed her slipping.
Therese Johaug notches another distance win at the 10-kilometer interval start classic in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“It was really tough today,” Johaug told FIS at the finish. “It’s a hard course here, and I like that a lot, but I had to fight with myself today. Mentally, after the Ski Tour, I have been a little bit tired, but the shape is still really good so I’m really happy to stand on top of the podium again today. It was really close to Ebba, but I have the second on my side.”
With three distance races to go, Johaug has the overall winner’s Crystal globe on lock. She leads the standings with 1311 points, over 400 ahead of the next competitor — a margin that is insurmountable given the remaining point opportunities. She leads the overall standings by an even greater margin of 721 points.
Her teammate, Heidi Weng, sits comfortably in second place in both standings. Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia is third for the overall and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway is third in distance.
Ebba Andersson slides across the finish in second at the 10-kilometer interval start classic in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Johaug’s primary challenger today was Sweden’s Ebba Andersson, who started six bibs behind and kept herself within four seconds of the Norwegian throughout the majority race, finishing 3.4 seconds back for second place. Andersson was fourth in the Ski Tour and sits in the same position in the distance standings.
Finishing third in Lahti was Krista Pärmäkoski (+11.8). Though the Finnish veteran has a list of podium finishes and Olympic medals to her name, she has not cracked the top-3 in an individual event since January, 2019 when she took third at the final stage of the Tour de Ski (she has had top-3 results for time of day).
Krista Pärmäkoski kicks her way to a season best performance and podium in her home country. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Pärmäkoski looked like a metronome, covering the tracks with a smooth and steady kick-glide rhythm. Her only falter was untimely. Rounding a sharp downhill curve just before the finish, she found herself on the far edge of the turn where the chunky edge of the of track abutted the bare ground of the hillside.
The Finn fell to the ground, losing momentum that could have put her higher on the podium. Nonetheless, as she pushed the final meters across the line, the volume in the stadium surged, blue and white flags waving wildly, putting a smile as her face as she caught her breath.
Finishing amidst a roaring crowd in her home country, Krista Pärmäkoski takes third in Lahti. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Celebrating a podium in her home country, Krista Pärmäkoski takes third in Lahti. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Sweden’s Frida Karlsson and Østberg rounded out the top-5 in fourth (+21.9) and fifth (+25.0), respectively.
The top American of the day was Rosie Brennan in 19th (+1:28.9).
Charging to 19th, Rosie Brennan is the top American finisher in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“There is not a flake of natural snow around Lahti, so it’s amazing that they were able to put together a full 5 k course that was all hard packed man made snow,” wrote Brennan in an email. “I felt pretty good for somewhere around 4 k’s and then fatigue hit hard. I did my best to keep moving well but unfortunately, I did lose quite a few positions… I think I am definitely feeling some tour fatigue but more so just season long fatigue as I’ve haven’t been home since mid November. I happy with how I skied all considering and certainly am optimistic that with some rest I can have a strong finish. I am headed to Park City now to rest and prepare for Canmore.”
Outside the to-30, Caitlin Patterson was 36th (+2:33.7) and Becca Rorabaugh (APU) 39th (+2:57.3).
Becca Rorabaugh on course during the 10-kilometer individual start classic in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Becca Rorabaugh skis to 39th in her first European World Cup start in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Today was Rorabaugh’s first European World Cup start. Though the 30-year-old was first raced a World Cup in February of 2010, her only other experiences at that level have been in Quebec and Canmore during Canadian Ski Tours or World Cup finals.
“I really enjoyed the World Cup level downhills and the perfectly firm tracks out there,” wrote Rorabaugh in an email. “Our wax guys nailed it for me so I was able to ski with a few different people, but it was a tougher course than what I’m used to in the US. This was definitely a step up in steepness of pitch and amount of climbing, and I’d love to have more domestic opportunities to work on this kind of thing. The crowds were awesome and it was cool to see all the national pride with Finnish skiers on both podiums. I’m very thankful to have had the opportunity to come over and race against such a strong field in such great conditions. I’m also excited to have more World Cup starts coming up!”
Ebba Andersson (SWE) and Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN) exchange a high five as they join Therese Johaug (NOR) on the podium in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: NordicFocus)
(Press Release) FIS Cross-Country World Cup finals to take place in Falun (SWE)
