Diggins Again! American Wins Tour 15K Classic

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Watching the Tour de Ski is like looking at a giant pendulum swinging back and forth. Yesterday, on day one, the pendulum swung to the favor of skiers with sprinting talent. Jessie Diggins (USA) made the most of that swing by gaining the maximum number of bonus seconds winning the Freestyle Sprint. She came into today’s 15 kilometer Classic Mass Start race with over a minute lead on Therese Johaug (NOR) and Heidi Weng (NOR). Today, those skiers without Sprinting legs would try to ride the pendulum back as it swings to Distance racing.

Jasmi Joensuu (FIN) and Nadine Faehndrich (SUI) also made the most of yesterday’s Sprint. At the start of the day, they sat in second and third respectively, seven and 15 seconds behind Diggins. Whether Joensuu and Faehndrich could hang with the Distance skiers remained a big question mark. But there was no question about what Johaug and Heidi Weng had in mind going into the day. Their mission would be to do whatever it took to eat into Diggins minute plus lead. That was the only certainty heading into the day. Already this season we’ve seen the two work together in Distance races, and that was a distinct possibility going into today’s race.

But the Distance skiers’ plans to gain time on Diggins today imploded when in a shocking turn of events Diggins was the one grinding down the Classic skiers and took her first World Cup Classic victory outdueling all of the big Scandinavian names. Johaug and Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR) tried to punish the field throughout the race, but every time they made a move, Diggins answered closing any gaps they created with her world best downhill technique.

When the pendulum had swung back towards the Classic Distance skiers, it was shockingly Diggins who was at the top having not only withstood the pendulum swing but actually managed to come out on top. Classic phenom Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) took second place with Slind finishing third. H. Weng held on for fourth, and in another shocking turn of events, Johaug ended up sixth, clearly defeated at the end of the race.

After the race Diggins was ecstatic. “It’s really cool. It took me 340 World Cups to get here. This is why you never give up. I’ve been working so hard on Classic skiing my whole life, and it’s really emotional to finally do it. It took a lot of tries. I’m so thankful to my team because they gave me perfect skis. They were fast and I had the grip, so on the last hill I could go. It was just pure magic. It was really cool. I came into this in a really good head space. I’m healthy, I’m happy, loving what I’m doing, it’s an amazing team atmosphere.  It’s going to be a big party in the truck today.” Diggins added that, “this summer I put in so much work on my double pole, so much work trying to improve my power and my strength. I feel like being able to sprint like that yesterday and finish like that today … I didn’t know if I had that in me, and I had to work really-really hard to get there, and I had a lot of help from a lot of people. I had perfect skis, and I feel like this victory is as much for the wax techs as it is for me.”

Other American finishers were Rosie Brennan in 14^th, Julia Kern 31^st, Sophia Laukli 46^th, and Alayna Sonnesyn 50^th.

It was a good day for Brennan but, “I’m definitely still far from where I want to be,” Brennan said after the race. “At this point, I’m just putting my best foot forward every day and doing the best I can to keep finding myself and you’ll know when I’m back, and I’ll leave it at that.”

The top Canadian finisher was Katherine Stewart-Jones in 34^th. She was followed by Liliane Gagnon in 35^th.

Women’s 15 kilometer Classic Mass Start

Conditions were described as perfect for the start of the women’s 15 kilometer Classic mass start with firm deep tracks. By virtue of winning yesterday’s race, a hatless Diggins was in the front row of starters alongside Joensuu and Faehndrich. Almost immediately at the start Classic expert Niskanen went to the front. One of the Tour favorites Johaug—because of her poor sprinting performance—started toward the back of the pack in bib 39 and spent the first kilometers double poling outside the track on the edge of the course to move toward the front. After only six minutes into the race at the 2.3 kilometer mark Johaug had pushed at a frenzied pace and worked herself to the front of the pack to take the lead.

At the 3.3 kilometer mark there was a bonus Sprint where Joensuu went to the front to take the maximum Sprint points. Johaug and Faehndrich were with her with Diggins sitting calmly in 10^th only a couple of seconds off the lead.

At the start of the second lap Johaug had pushed back to the front with Niskanen and Diggins trailing right behind her. Also having moved to the front was another Tour favorite H. Weng. At 5.2 kilometers there was another bonus section— this one was a bonus section for climbers. Johaug went through first, but Diggins was right by her side, now followed closely by Norwegian Distance standout Slind.

At the 6.1 kilometer mark Slind and Johaug decided to make their first serious break and established a gap on the group. Diggins quickly went to the front of the chase group as the two Norwegians in a matter of a couple of seconds were able to develop a measurable gap. But as she so often does, Diggins was able to close the gap on the downhills. It was a theme which was repeated several times throughout the race.

But even though Johaug and Slind hadn’t gained ground on Diggins, they had broken up the pack and there was now a defined lead group of about a dozen skiers. While the pack pulled away Slind and Johaug continued to throw in a burst of speed to try and pull away. And amazingly at the bottom of downhills Diggins would glide up onto the backs of the Norwegians. It had to have been incredibly frustrating for the lead pair to see their hard work evaporate at the bottom of every downhill as Diggins magically appeared right beside them.

At the 7.5 kilometer halfway mark Johaug was still out front with a pack of proven Classic performers around her. Niskanen, Slind, and Weng joined Diggins at the lead pack along with Teresa Stadlober (AUT), Krista Parmakoski (FIN), and Linn Svahn (SWE). At this point, the lead pack looked like a Scandinavian Classic all-star team with Diggins somehow hanging with them.

At 8.6 kilometers Niskanen took the lead with Johaug right behind her. But the big news at this point was that Johaug had not been able to blow open the race. She had used a lot of energy at the beginning of the race to scratch her way from the back of the pack to take the lead and it looked like she was paying the price.

As the racers hit the 11.2 kilometer mark the pattern which had been established throughout the race repeated itself again. Johaug and Slind led a group of nine skiers at the front pushing the pace on the uphills creating a gap, with Diggins then closing the gap on the downhills. Several times it looked like the lead duo were going to pull away, and each time Diggins closed on them on the downhills.

With only 1.4 kilometers left the lead field was down to seven skiers with Slind still pushing the pace. But try as they might the leaders couldn’t drop Diggins who tenaciously hung with the lead group as they entered the final downhill leading into the stadium.

At this point, it was already mission accomplished for Diggins. As long as she stayed upright until the finish, she would have preserved her Tour lead, which was at the start of the race really all the American team was hoping for. But Diggins wasn’t satisfied with just maintaining her Tour lead. She could sense that she had the opportunity to make personal history. On the final climb she put in a massive turn of speed and took the lead over the field. Shockingly none of the other leaders could respond to Diggins’ burst. The first to crumple was Johaug who couldn’t take the pace and dropped off the field. Diggins frenetically double poled to the finish as Niskanen and Slind tried to stick with her, but they couldn’t and Diggins dropped the rest of the field. She crossed the finish line first, exhausted, laying on the snow with the knowledge that not only had she defended her Tour lead, but that she had just won her first World Cup Classic race! It was a shocking and incredibly satisfying victory.

Not only had Diggins defended her lead, but she had beaten the Scandinavians at their own game, Classic skiing. It had to be a dagger through the heart of the Distance skiers chasing her as they were doubtlessly counting on gaining time on their rival today only to end up losing more time to Diggins. It was a monumental achievement for Diggins and the entire American team, and a crushing blow to the rest of the field.

After today’s heroics, Diggins had expanded her lead in the Tour. She now holds a 38 second advantage of Niskanen, and is over a minute ahead of Slind, H. Weng and Johaug.

Tour de Ski women’s Mass Start 15 K Classic Results

Tour de Ski Standings