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The timing of the Norwegian national championships has already had a dramatic effect on world cup races in Les Rousses, France. Today’s women’s 20 kilometer Classic mass start race would not be an exception.
Absent from the start list were perennial favorites Therese Johaug (NOR) and Heidi Weng (NOR). Those two finished one-two respectively in yesterday’s Norwegian championship 20 kilometer skiathlon.
But the absences on the American squad were perhaps even more meaningful and certainly likely to have a longer lasting impact on the race season. The U.S. women who have consistently been celebrated for their depth and top performances are now plagued by injuries.
One critical absence was the Overall world cup leader Jessie Diggins (USA) who decided not to race today because of her ongoing foot injury. She revealed that after double poling the entirety of the Classic Sprint yesterday that she would not compete in today’s Classic race. She also disclosed that after the Tour de Ski she had an MRI which revealed that she has a partial rupture of the fascia by the heel bone in addition to the plantar fasciitis. She indicated that, “this is something that I don’t want to risk. My number one goal is long term foot health.” She stated that she couldn’t stride “with any intensity,” but that she could double pole, which is why she double poled all of yesterday’s Sprint course to finish 40th. Diggins doesn’t know when her next Classic race will be. World Championships are still in her sights, but there is no certainty about whether she will be able to do any Classic racing by then. It was an absence which further dug into an already depleted American squad.
Joining Diggins on the sidelines were Rosie Brennan who also did not race today, and Julia Kern who is still recovering from the Tour de Ski.
The news from Brennan was bad. “I am struggling with my health and as I hope you can observe, racing does not feel good,” said Brennan. She elaborated that, “I really hoped with two weeks away, I could sort things out but that has unfortunately not been the case. It’s been very challenging to get the medical help I need overseas, and without friends, family, and my coach, so I am currently on a plane to Alaska. I am crushed and scared and don’t know what the future holds but a change was needed to try to move forward. I haven’t given up on returning to racing but need to put myself in a place where I can learn more about what my body is telling me and be able to take care of my physical and mental self before I can make a decision on when I will return.”
So that meant that only two Americans were in today’s field. Sophia Laukli, who turned in an excellent performance finishing 16th,, and Alayna Sonnesyn who was 36th.
“Each classic race this year is definitely getting a bit better each time, but I do still feel there’s a lot of room for improvement.,” said Laukli. “I’m for sure feeling there’s fatigue from the Tour so I’m just happy to put together a solid Classic race for the time being. In past years I wouldn’t be able to do that unless I was in peak form.” The challenging Les Rousses course also worked to the Distance specialist’s favor. “The course was definitely a grind which always works to my advantage, maybe less so today because I was pretty tired. But in general I will always do better on a course with minimal double pole and lots of work.”
The absence of Norwegian and American stars provided an opening for others. Frida Karlsson (SWE) took full advantage of some of her top rivals’ absence and turned in an epic performance, totally dominating the field winning by almost 1:30. Karlsson led from the start, and it was immediately clear that no one would be able to keep pace with her today. Her performance certainly made fans wonder what the race would have looked like had Johaug been present. Karlsson was followed in second place by her teammate Ebba Andersson, with Teresa Stadlober (AUT) taking third. After the race Karlsson said, “it was really fun today.” She continued that, “I felt relaxed and strong. It was just fun.” Karlsson indicated that she intended to do some altitude training before the world championships, which didn’t give much of a clue as to whether she would do additional world cup races before the world championships.
Canadian Katherine Stewart-Jones continued to impress, she finished 14th. Other Canadian finishers were Lilian Gagnon in 23rd, and Alison Mackie 34th.
Perhaps no one trying to take advantage of Norway’s thin lineup was a more unlikely sight than the appearance of Norway’s own Kristine Stavaas Skistad’s name on the start list. Skistad is a well-known name, having won more Sprints than most can remember—but a Distance race —well that’s not exactly in her wheelhouse. She has completed some distance races in the Tour de Ski. But outside of those, the only world cup Distance races on Skistad’s resume appeared to be … none! But apparently Skistad reevaluated the benefit and reality of doing a 20 kilometer Classic race, thought better of it, and chose not to start.
But after today’s race, there were more questions than answers swirling around the American team. With it’s usual dominating duo of Diggins and Brennan ailing, and the reliable Kern resting, it would be up to some of the other women to shoulder the racing load, at least in Classic races. With the world championships on the horizon, it is not the position that the American team was hoping to be in.
The Women’s 20 Kilometer Classic Mass Start
Karlsson wasted no time going to the front of the pack and by two kilometers she was out front setting the pace ahead of Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR). Karlsson’s brisk pace was able to string out the field very early. By 3.5 kilometers she was at the front of a six person pack with the Classic expert Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) at the back of it. Katharina Hennig (GER), Slind, Ebba Andersson (SWE), and Teresa Stadlober (AUT) rounded out the group.
At the five kilometer mark Hennig double poled past Karlsson and the two jockeyed for position at the head of the pack. It was the only few moments at the front for Hennig, and the only time when Karlsson would relinquish the lead.
Niskanen was the first to show that she was having trouble keeping up with the pace as she was dropped off the back and the lead pack was quickly down to five skiers.
At 8.1 kilometers Karlsson continued to push the pace with Andersson, Hennig, Stadlober, and Slind hanging right with her. At this point, Sophia Laukli (USA) was the top American in 18th place, and Canadian Katherine Stewart-Jones, who was having another good day, was holding on to 14th.
Toward the front Karlsson was picking up the pace like a locomotive gaining speed, and only Andersson was able to go with her. Stadlober was now in third and by the half-way mark she was over four seconds behind Karlsson. Hennig had drifted to over 11 seconds back. Slind, Carl, and Niskanen were now in a second chase group that was over 25 seconds behind the leaders.
But Karlsson was on a mission and set a pace which no one could match. By the 13.4 kilometer mark she had dropped her teammate Andersson and was skiing by herself 23 seconds ahead of Andersson.
With five kilometers left Karlsson already had the race in hand, and the competition was now for the rest of the podium spots. While Karlsson had extended her lead to 41 seconds over Andersson, Stadlober, who was in third place, was trying to reel in Andersson. Surprisingly, long distance specialist Slind was unable to maintain the pace and was over 30 seconds behind Stadlober.
With 3.8 kilometers remaining Karlsson’s lead ballooned to over 54 seconds. In second place, her teammate Andersson was fighting desperately to hold off Stadlober who continued to stalk her. Stadlober was six seconds behind Andersson and showed no signs of relenting. But the fight was exclusively for second and third place with the rest of the field now too far back to play into the podium standings.
Stadlober was keeping Andersson in her sights, but try as she might, she couldn’t begin to close the small gap on the second place skier.
As the skiers approached the finish, Karlsson’s total domination clearly showed as there wasn’t another skier to be seen—for a long time. Karlsson had just given an absolute Classic skiing clinic finishing over 1:29 ahead of Andersson as she double poled across the finish line with an enthusiastic smile on her face and looking jubilant. Meanwhile, Andersson had fought off Stadlober’ s efforts and was able to keep her second place position. Stadlober finished third having fallen back to almost 12 seconds behind Stadlober. It was total domination by Karlsson who showed that she appeared to be back in top form.
Les Rousses Women’s 20 kilometer Classic Mass Start
