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As followers of cross country skiing, we may be some of the most spoiled fans in the entire sports world. Nordic skiing is incredibly taxing and exhausting, and the World Cup tour is a non-stop whirlwind of uphills and downhills, airplanes and hotel rooms, foreign foods and unpredictable winter weather. Still, what we expect (as fans) is that skiers will continue to show up each weekend to entertain us in this unscripted drama unfolding across the forests and snowfields of northern Europe. What they do, week in and week out, is simply amazing. Little surprise then, that some of them eventually need a break. Over the past few weeks, some notable stars have been conspicuous by their limited appearances. Consider the lists of the injured: Kristine Stavaas Skistad (NOR) and Jessie Diggins (USA). The ill or exhausted: Linn Svahn (SWE) and Maja Dahlqvist (SWE). And the recently returned: Julia Kern (USA). In Falun, Sweden, nearly all of the serious Sprint contenders—including the durable every-weekers like Jasmi Joensu (FIN), Johanna Hagstroem (SWE) and Nadine Faehndrich (SUI)—were gathered for the Classic Sprint. With only Sweden’s Jonna Sundling being absent, the crowd in Falun would be in for a treat.
Americans Jessie Diggins, Julia Kern, and Sammy Smith advanced to quarterfinals by qualifying 8th, 10th, and 14th respectively. Diggins and Kern would advance to semifinals, ultimately finishing 7th and 8th. Smith would bow out in her quarterfinal, earning a 30th place finish. Other American finishers included Erin Bianco 33rd, Kate Oldham 34th, Emma Albrecht 41st.
Among Canadians, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt finished 32nd, Katherine Weaver 37th, Sonjaa Schmidt 45th, Amelia Wells 50th.
Falun Classic Sprint
Fans had not seen Svahn since January’s Tour de Ski. In Falun, she was able to move easily through Quarterfinal 2, showing a bit of the spark and tactical control that epitomized her early career (where she had already won 12 World Cup Sprints). Skistad and Joensu moved on from Quarterfinal 1 while Kern (also recently returned to the World Cup field after a lengthy absence) dominated Quarterfinal 3 in which Dahlqvist overcame a broken pole to chase down the entire field and storm from behind in the closing meters to claim a space in the semifinals. Diggins led Quarterfinal 4 early on, to finish in second behind Faehndrich. Hagstroem and Julie Myhre (NOR) advanced out of Quarterfinal 5.
Semifinal 1
The first semifinal pitted Skistad against Joensu, Svahn, Kern, Coletta Rydzek (GER), and Mathilde Myhrvold (NOR). Skistad would go quickly to the lead, but did not seem eager to push the pace. Joensu volunteered to lead the significant downhill with Svahn wisely tucked in behind, from which position she was able to surge forward for the heat win (ahead of Skistad). Kern found herself off the back early on, but was able to recover for fourth in the heat. Joensu would advance to the final as a lucky loser, but Kern would find herself bumped out of the final position by finishers in Semifinal 2.
Semifinal 2
Diggins would line up for the second semifinal against Myhre, Hagstroem, Faehndrich, Dahlqvist, and Gimmler. After a slow start, Diggins would weave her way through the field, but was never able to advance farther than fourth (behind Dahlqvist, Faehndrich and Hagstroem, all of whom would advance to the final).
Sprint Final
Skistad drove quickly to the front in the Women’s Sprint Final, marked by Svahn who accelerated impressively over the top of the course’s steepest climb. Up the first climb, Skistad dropped back behind Faehndrich while Dahlqvist and Hagstroem trailed the field. Svahn would power to the line for her 13th World Cup Sprint win, demonstrating that she is back at full strength as the field looks forward to the World Championships two weeks from now in Trondheim. Faehndrich would hold on for a hard-earned second, while Skistad settled for third, just holding off a hard-charging Dahlqvist in the final meters.
Falun Women’s Sprint RESULTS
Falun Women’s Sprint QUALIFYING
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.
