This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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.
Jessie Diggins has worn the FIS World Cup Overall Leader’s bib for over 100 days of the 2024 World Cup season. With only two days of racing remaining in the World Cup season (Saturday’s 10 k Individual Start, and Sunday’s 20 k Freestyle Mass Start), the story dominating women’s World Cup racing is whether Diggins will continue leading at season’s end. A significant chapter in that story was written today in Falun, Sweden with the contesting of the Women’s 10 k Classic Individual Start. Having entered the day with a dwindling 41 point lead over Linn Svahn (SWE), Diggins skied courageously to a fifth place finish, actually increasing her lead over Svahn (who would finish 18th) by an additional 34 points. Diggins takes a 75 point lead into tomorrow’s season-ending race—finally a confidence-inspiring points-lead after recent weeks of doubt and stress.
In Friday’s Sprint quarterfinal, Diggins had looked uncharacteristically tense and rigid at the starting line: smiling, but forced—definitely not the bubbly facade her fans have come to expect. Lately, she’s commented often about choosing not to be weighed down by the pressure of looming World Cup challenges, choosing instead to focus on joy, on gratitude, on the support of her teammates. But it looked like the pressure of the moment on Sprint morning might’ve caught her by surprise.
In Falun, the Swedes were racing on home soil, fielding the world’s strongest team, with the sport’s best ski techs, the industry’s fastest skis, and a coaching staff notably adept at delivering year-long performances and late-season results. Those advantages appeared to tilt things in Svahn’s favor . . . but Diggins is not an athlete who seems to be affected by appearances. She’ll go out and race her hardest every day; anyone chasing her must know they’ll pay a hefty price to catch her. Today, Diggins drove to an impressive fifth place finish—more than a minute ahead of Svahn—in a race that was won by Finland’s Classic specialist, Kertuu Niskanen. At the age of 35, Niskanen has delivered her best-ever World Cup campaign with her third victory of the season, and the sixth victory of her career. Joining Niskanen on the podium were Johanna Matintalo (FIN) and Jonna Sundling (SWE).
American finishers included Rosie Brennan 12th, Sophia Laukli 21st, Novie McCabe 44th, Julia Kern 48th, Sammy Smith 54th, Haley Brewster 56th. Canadian finishers included Liliane Gagnon 59th, and Sonjaa Schmidt 63rd.
10 k Classic Individual Start
An overcast day greeted World Cup racers and fans, as snow clouds sat low on the hills above Falun. At race time, temperatures hovered around zero degrees centigrade, with gusting winds and blowing snow. Many recreational skiers would choose to remain indoors on such a day: the Classic skiing would kind of stink (Klister? Too sticky in the new snow. Zeros? Too much drag in the glide). Skiing today doesn’t look like very much fun.
In a pre-race interview, Maja Dahlqvist (SWE) assumed that her ski techs would recommend “zeros” (skis specially prepared by roughing the kick zone with sand paper) for today’s racing conditions. If most racers opted for zeros, that could serve to even out the advantages that ski prep sometimes creates. Falun offered a winding course following a 2.5 k loop and two 3.7 k loops to make the ten kilometer distance. One “killer hill” challenges racers 7.5 k into the race. No matter which technical solution might work best, today was likely to produce challenging racing for winners and also-rans, alike.
In the race-within-a-race that attracted the most attention—Diggins vs. Svahn—Svahn’s start position (52nd starter) well behind Diggins (34th starter), would give Svahn the advantage of hearing Diggins’ splits while on course. It didn’t seem to matter . . . Diggins races as if she’s on a mission, and today was no exception. As Diggins drove forward into the snow-streaked Swedish forest, Svanh’s pursuit of the World Cup overall seemed to be faltering. At 6.3 kilometers, Diggins was ahead of Svahn, Frida Karlsson (SWE), Ebba Andersson (SWE), Krista Parmakoski (FIN), and trailed only Niskanen and Sundling. Diggins’ skis appeared to be running at least even with those of her rivals . . . but, really, her race on this day would be all against Svahn. In that all-important two-person race, Diggins continued to extend her lead at each checkpoint, leading Svahn by six seconds at 1.2 k, by 24 seconds at 4.3 kilometers, by 36 seconds at 6.3 kilometers, by 55 seconds at 7.7 kilometers, by more than a minute at 9.1 kilometers.
Diggins powered down the home stretch, barely even making it across the finish line before crumpling in an exhausted heap. Known for leaving all her energy out on the race course, Diggins left no doubt on this day when so much was riding on her ability—and her willingness—to do so once again. In the finish area, Diggins continued to lie prone in the snow for many minutes after her race had concluded.
“My only goal—just like always—was to finish with nothing left,” Diggins commented after the race. “I’m really proud of myself for making sure that my last classic race of the year was everything that I had.”
Niskanen—the race winner—led at every checkpoint on the 10 k course. The surprise of the day was the race put together by Johanna Matintalo (FIN) who was at or near the top at every checkpoint. Ultimately, Matintalo would finish second (a career-first World Cup podium) just ahead of Sundling.
Diggins collected 80 points for fifth place, while Svahn collected only 46 points for 18th. Diggins will enter tomorrow’s 20 k Mass Start Freestyle with a lead of 75 points, and the ability to ski head-to-head her closest pursuer through the entire distance. Even if Svahn were able to win Sunday’s 20 k, Diggins would need to finish no worse than 28th in order to secure the World Cup Overall championship.
Diggins performance in Falun’s 10 k Classic also secured her hold on the World Cup Distance globe. But it is the race tomorrow—the 20 k Mass Start Freestyle—that will determine just how much total space Diggins needs to clear in her trophy case.
Women’s 10 k Classic Individual Start RESULTS
John Teaford
John Teaford—the Managing Editor of FasterSkier — has been the coach of Olympians, World Champions, and World Record Holders in six sports: Nordic skiing, speedskating, road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, triathlon. In his long career as a writer/filmmaker, he spent many seasons as Director of Warren Miller’s annual feature film, and Producer of adventure documentary films for Discovery, ESPN, Disney, National Geographic, and NBC Sports.
