Slind Accelerates to Effortless Victory as Sanness Earns First World Cup Podium in Engadin 20 k

Kennedy LangeJanuary 26, 2025

Skiers competed in a point-to-point race today, a rarity on the World Cup circuit these days as races favor small stadium loops, with better spectating and easier logistics for the host venue. The first 9 k of the race traversed flat terrain following the frozen lake of St. Moritz. Around the halfway point, skiers entered the World Cup stadium, completing three laps of a 3.7-kilometer course before crossing the finish line.

Victoria Carl (GER) followed by Jessie Diggins (USA) in the yellow bib and Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR) in the red bib along the frozen St. Moritz lake. (Photo: NordicFocus)

This Sunday’s competition may have started this morning, but preparations and logistics were in full swing until late last night. American coach, Chris Grover, explained, “The logistics of this race are so complicated. We’re just trying to figure out how to get the skiers here, how to get the skis here at the right time for fluoro testing, how to handle the feeds, manage the extra poles, determine where to place extra skis on the course, and cover all the feed zones.” These logistics are more complicated than those of a usual weekend race due to the point-to-point format and resulting challenges accessing the first half of the race for support staff. “Everyone is having fun and working super hard this morning,” Grover reported about the service team. “It’s a little comical when it gets really difficult sometimes.”

“We have a very nice course with some technical parts,” race director Simon Caprini shared before the start. He also speculated that any significant action or jostling of positions would be unlikely until the second half, once skiers began completing laps around the stadium. 

Caprini’s prediction proved accurate. Skiers remained calm and smooth through the first 10 kilometers, striving to maintain positions near the front without eager attempts to take the lead, knowing all-too-well the effort to lead so early in the race would not pay off with more difficult terrain to come in the second half. 

Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR) led the field through much of the race. (Photo: NordicFocus)

As anticipated, the transition from the flat frozen lake to the more challenging stadium course proved decisive in determining the final standings. Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR) made a strong move upon entering the first stadium lap, quickly gaining five seconds on the field. She continued to extend her lead, reaching over 20 seconds by the finish line. Slind didn’t ski the entire distance alone; her teammate Nora Sanness (NOR) caught up around the 15-kilometer mark on the second stadium lap. They worked together through the final kilometers until just 0.3 kilometers before the finish line, when Slind used her dominant sprint expertise to accelerate into the finishing stretch uncontested. 

Following in the chase pack, Jessie Diggins (USA), Jonna Sundling (SWE), Anne Kjersti Kalvaa (NOR), and Flora Dolci (ITA) raced together throughout the competition, with Sundling out-sprinting the others to secure the final podium position.

Jessie Diggins (USA) with a small lead over a hill on the stadium track, only to be caught shortly after with her slow skis on the descent. (Photo: NordicFocus)

The American women reported slow skis impacted today’s performance. Diggins explained, “We win as a team and we lose as a team. It’s ok, everyone works super hard, and sometimes we miss it (the wax). And today we missed it, and that definitely impacted the race.” Sophia Laukli (USA) added, “It became clear once we hit this part (the stadium loops) that we did not have the skis needed for today. It’s frustrating when this happens, especially when the body and strategy are dialed in, but there are just so many elements in ski racing!”

For the Americans, Diggins finished 5th, Laukli in 16th, Julia Kern in 19th, Kendall Kramer in 36th, Kate Oldham in 38th, Lucinda Anderson in 46th, Lauren Jortberg in 54th, and Alayna Sonnesyn in 55th. 

Canada also had a strong day with Liliane Gagnon finishing 15th, Katherine Stewart-Jones in 18th, Sonjaa Schmidt in 23rd, Alison Mackie in 33rd, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt in 37th, and Amelia Wells in 53rd. 

 

Women’s 20 k Mass Start Freestyle

Teams in Engadin woke up to six inches of snow this morning, accompanied by sideways winds and low visibility. However, by the time the women lined up at the start this afternoon, the skies had cleared, revealing a sunlit valley and surrounding mountain peaks adorned with a gorgeous blanket of snow. While this might have caused some early-morning stress for the wax technicians, tracks were freshly groomed and firm by the time the competitions were scheduled in the afternoon. 

Not only is this point-to-point format a novelty at the World Cup level, but a course with more than half the route over flat terrain is also unusual. Skiers would find three main places on the course that would decisively change the results; 1. the initial jostle for a strong position out of the start, 2. entering the stadium laps where skiers might make a move, and 3. the finishing stretch (naturally). From the outset, it was clear that little excitement would occur before reaching the stadium at the halfway point.

The pack set out from the start over the frozen St. Moritz lake. (Photo: NordicFocus)

Diggins, the overall tour leader, was set to start first in the 20 kilometer freestyle mass start, with Victoria Carl (GER) over her left shoulder and Slind on her right. As the gun went off, the usual jostling for the start position was absent as skiers set out relaxed and comfortable with the slow pace. Likely aware that the race would be decided in the more challenging second half, the flat terrain over the frozen lake left tired skiers the opportunity to ease into the day. 

Diggins strategically positioned herself behind Carl, Slind, and Kerttu Niskanen (FIN), determined to conserve energy while maintaining her position near the front of the pack. Laukli started ninth and maintained her position near the lead through the early stages of the race

After the first 6.5 kilometers, the pace began to increase, with racers skiing at higher tempos and competition intensifying as they vied for bonus points awarded at the 9.5-kilometer checkpoint. 

It wasn’t until the competitors entered the stadium that gaps in the field began to form, as more difficult terrain weeded out tired skiers from the front of the pack. As Slind built a commanding lead heading into the first stadium lap around the 10-kilometer mark, Diggins joined the chase pack consisting of Nora Sanness (NOR), Jonna Sundling (SWE), Anne Kjersti Kalvaa (NOR), and Flora Dolci (FRA). These skiers traded leads over the following half of the race.

Laukli, who had skied the first half of the race in the top ten, dropped back to the second chase pack upon entering the stadium laps. Reflecting on her strategy for the day, she shared, “The goal was to stay in the top ten from the beginning and conserve as much energy before getting to the racecourse for the last 10 kilometers. All went to plan, and feelings were great, so I was confident when we started the laps on the race course.” However, things don’t always go according to plan in ski racing. During the second half of the course, Laukli began to drop back due to slower ski speeds, forcing her to work extra hard to maintain her position.

Diggins could be seen pulling away from the pack on the ascents, surely determined not to let Slind ski away again. With slower skis, Diggins struggled to make up the territory – “I made every push that I could up that final uphill, but it was not enough of a gap not to be reeled back in on the downhill.”

Viewers might have wondered if Slind could sustain such a lead over the rest of the field—had she accelerated too early?

Nora Sanness (NOR) caught teammate Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR), and the pair skied together until the finish. (Photo: NordicFocus)

On the second lap, Slind’s teammate Sanness made her move forward, closing the ten-second gap to Slind in less than a kilometer. Working together, the pair continued to build their lead at the front through the final lap. Slind positioned herself behind her teammate, confident in her ability to pull ahead in the end and perhaps appreciative of the recovery she would get from drafting.

Almost comfortably, Slind accelerated over the final descent into the finishing stretch, crossing the line uncontested once again. “I love this kind of race, I have been doing it a lot in the ski classics. It’s definitely for me,” Slind remarked on the point-to-point discipline of today’s race. “Well, the plan was to try to be smart until the laps were starting, and then speed up. I didn’t want a big group to follow all the way in, and just push[ed] the gas pedal to the bottom,” Slind explained following the race. She will only take part in the 10-kilometer race in Cogne, Italy next weekend and just two races in Falun, Sweden ahead of the World Championships in Norway next month. “I want to keep the race pace going and then do a lot of training in between.”

Nora Sanness (NOR) earned her first World Cup podium finish. (Photo: NordicFocus)

Sanness finished a few seconds behind with a large smile on her face as she earned her first-ever World Cup Podium finish. 

Sundling, Diggins, and Kalvaa would come around the corner next in a head-to-head battle for the final podium position. Sundling narrowly crossed the line less than a second ahead of the other two, who finished in a deep lunge and a photo finish. Video footage revealed a 0.1-second difference in times, with Kalvaa taking fourth and Diggins fifth.

“Today was a really good day of deploying the never-give-up and fight-for-every-little-bit-that-you-can mentality for me. And honestly, I’m really proud of how hard I fought and how hard I raced out there today,” Diggins shared following the race. 

Women’s 20 Freestyle Mass Start Results

Nora Sanness (NOR), Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR), and Jonna Sundling (SWE) topped the Engadin 20 k freestyle podium. (Photo: NordicFocus)

 

Kennedy Lange

Loading Facebook Comments ...

Leave a Reply

Voluntary Subscription