Diggins’ Masterclass—THAT is How You Win a Skiathlon

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If this is what a farewell tour looks like, then it’s a truly spectacular thing to behold. In Trondheim on Saturday, Jessie Diggins demonstrated her toughness, her strategic acumen, and her mastery of World Cup ski racing with a resounding victory in the 20 k Skiathlon. Diggin’s career has been long and illustrious, but never before has she shown the sort of veteran dominance that was on display in today’s mass start event. Diggins spent the day bobbing through the lead group,—dropping back on climbs, weaving her way forward on descents—while skiers at front of the field thrashed at the pace. Diggins kept herself in contention, in a place that allowed her to conserve as much energy as possible, in a position to win. And win she did, ahead of longtime rivals, Heidi Weng (NOR) and Ebba Andersson (SWE). In a season that Diggins has already announced will be her last, it’s thrilling to witness all that she has learned—and mastered—in her long career.

“The thing about moving around in a pack is just figuring where you need to be and when, just trying to be smart,” said Diggins. “Today, my legs felt like they were one step away from cramping, so I knew I was going to have to spring a quick attack , and it was gonna have to come at the very end.” It was a strategy that Diggins played out to perfection.

Sprinters are so dangerous in mass start distance races when they turn up fresh and rested. Major championships—like World Championships or Olympics—are often scheduled that way, giving sprinters a few extra days of rest between events, and allowing them to make off with some of the sport’s biggest prizes. Just ask Petter Northug: he remembers. On a World Cup weekend, however, Sprints are often scheduled on the first day, meaning that Sprint contenders have often put in a full day of sprinting right before a mass start distance event. That’s the situation in Trondheim . . . that’s the situation in which Jonna Sundling (SWE) found herself. Sundling is one of the world’s most accomplished and talented sprinters, and sprinters have the ability to snatch victories away from all-rounders in races like this. Sundling lined up for this race at starting spot no. 10, not all that far behind the acknowledged leaders. She closed the gap to the leaders in the first few meters of Saturday’s 20 k Skiathlon, but never really appeared sharp. She would finish 20th on the day, having never gotten close enough to the sharp-end of the field to make her sprinting prowess a factor.

Sickness, injuries, and suspensions have affected the World Cup field in its opening weeks. Astrid Oeyre Slind (NOR) was sidelined with a lingering Achilles tendon injury, but she returned to the field in this Skiathlon race to test the stress of Classic skiing on her fragile tendon. Unique in her absence from these season-opening events would be Victoria Carl (GER), who at the end of last season tested positive for a banned substance (clenbuterol) that was an ingredient in a cough syrup administered by a German team physician. She is currently banned from competition while her case continues to be considered.

20 k Skiathlon

Twenty kilometers is a pretty long way to race, especially when the first half of the race is the domain of those who are the most efficient Classic skiers. The transition leads to a 10 k freestyle leg where the first  kilometer or two are spent trying to get your body to remember how to skate. No one really looks like they’re flailing, but most of them are flailing inside their own imaginations. And all this happens while one’s rivals are storming up the trail. It’s a grinder’s race, one that’s dominated by those who don’t care how they look, who don’t care what it takes. They just grit their teeth, and race. Diggins, Karlsson, Andersson: those are the kinds of racers who can dominate the 20 k Skiathlon.

The front line seems to be where it’s at—Jessie Diggins (USA), Frida Karlsson (SWE), Ebba Andersson (SWE), and Heidi Weng (NOR), stacked on the front at the start of the 20 k Skiathlon. The race hadn’t even started yet, and already it looked as though those would be the stars, with everyone else being entered as mere supporting players. Karlsson and Andersson would be the two primary instigators and pace makers. A number of their Swedish teammates—Moa Ilar, Jonna Sundling, Emma Ribom—all had full sprint days yesterday, but lined up for the 20 k Skiathlon anyway.  Jessie Diggins (USA) got bumped out of the Sprint heats earlier than she might’ve liked, but that left her relatively fresh for Friday’s 20 k. Heidi Weng (NOR) remains a serious threat to anyone who hopes the pace will be moderate and the field will stick together. That’s just not the way Weng races.

By the end of the first lap, the front had re-shuffled slightly. The field was led through the stadium by Slind who had worked her way forward from her 16th starting position. Sweden had greatest numbers near the front: Karlsson, Andersson, Ribom, Ilar. They were joined by Weng and Kristin Ausgulen Fosnaes (NOR). Jessie Diggins continued to weave her way through the field, letting her fast skis bring her forward on each downhill section.

Rosie Brennan (USA), Julia Kern (USA), and Katherine Stewart-Jones (CAN) found themselves skiing in the 30s on the wrong side of the day’s first gap. Their chances of latching back on dwindled as Karlsson continued to drive the pace at the front.

The crushing pace set by the leaders progressively stretched the field. There was never a “move,” never an attack; the lead group ebbed and flowed between a select group of six, and a larger group of 15. Slind led again as the field entered the stadium for the second time. In Women’s World Cup mass start racing, no one gets a free ride. Sundling was finding that out as she began to slip back through the field, yesterday’s full day of sprinting beginning to show in her posture, her slowing tempo, her diminished pace.

Transition Tangles

Coming into transition, the field had shrunk to ten again, led into the stadium by Slind, Diggins, Karlsson, and Weng. Diggins tangled briefly with Karlsson in the exchange zone, but their standings were not really affected by it. It’s hard to say if Karlsson just utilized too wide a snowplow to slow herself down, or if Diggins found herself pinched against unusually tight zone barricades. Either way, there was a brief clash of skis and the sound of voices raised as the two rivals skidded into their respective transition gates. Diggins still managed to be one of the first out of transition (ahead of Karlsson). Sundling fumbled with her poles in the gate, losing even more time. The true sprinter was getting dropped; the all-rounders were getting away. Ten kilometers of skating to go . .

In the second half, the race became one of seasoned fitness and fast skis. Diggins, Andersson, and Slind were the first to get away, chased by Karlsson, Weng, Stadlober, Fosnaes, Ilar and Ribom. Among this selection of contenders, Diggins appeared to be the one with the strongest sprint. If she could hang on through the last two laps, her chances would improve with each passing meter.

Andersson moved to the front just after the beginning of the penultimate lap followed by Ilar whose stumble on a course-marking V-board allowed Andersson to establish a small gap over the field. But Andersson’s skis did not appear fast enough to maintain her advantage, and her lead was gobble up on the following downhill by Weng and Stadlober. Their efforts brought the field back together. Now everyone could see whose skis were fast, and whose were not.

This part of the race is where our viewing of mass start racing differs from years past. Diggins continued weaving through the field—dropping back on climbs, streaking forward on descents, re-positioning herself often to seek out the best draft, the best glide, the best view of the front. Years ago, we might’ve assumed that Diggins was “dangling,” the racers’ term for a skier who is just barely hanging on. Nowadays, however, we’ve come to learn that Diggins is simply cagey enough to conserve energy whenever possible, refusing to engage in the constant slug-fest that typically takes place at the front of Women’s world Cup mass start races. That’s an astonishing level of poise and control to be able to wield in an event of this competitiveness.

With only two kilometers remaining, the lead group of 10 was still ltogether. All wuld have been considering their sprint r´sum´s at this point, wondering if their own tired arms and legs would be a match for the tired arms and legs of others. There’s an unfortunate truth for competitors at this level. It’s this: a sprinter can be nearly spent, and still rise up to deliver a finishing sprint. If the endurance athletes want to beat the sprinters, they need to shed them well before the finishing straightaway. But this field was not shedding Diggins, whose strategy was beginning to look even more promising. Andersson, Karlsson, Slind, Weng all knew they’d need to create a breakaway, but they’d waited too long. Diggins hovered, then pounced. She sped down the final hill, free-skating to the front and leading the field into the final uphill (the same one that decided most of the Sprint heats yesterday). Karlsson followed, but was soon overcome by Weng. As Karlsson faded, she and Slind clogged the course, preventing any other repsonses from skiers coming from behind. Diggins initiated a tempo that none of the others could match, cresting the hill with a gap, one that would prove large enough for Diggins to deny Weng the slipstream on the final downhill to the finish line. Diggins has won a lot of races, but she’s never looked happier at the finish line than she did today. It was a Diggins’ Masterclass, an exclamation point in a farewell tour in which she’s showing all that she’s learned, and all that she’s earned.

“I was super super grateful for our techs,” said Diggins after the race. “I felt like I had awesome skis. I had great kick, I had very competitive glide in Classic, and then my skate skis were just awesome. That gives you a lot of confidence, because the skis are a super-important part of it. You need all the puzzle pieces to come together, and I feel like they gave me an amazing opporunity today. That made me super motivated to race my heart out, and to do it for the Truck Team!”

The 20 k Skiathlon will be a hotly contested Olympic event this season. On that day, numerous contenders will vie for the gold medal: Sundling will be fresh, Karlsson will be sharp, Andersson will be hungry, Slind will be healthy . . . and Jessie Diggins will be stalking them all, looking for an opening to flash forward into the headlines. Farewell, indeed . . .

Diggins maintains her hold on the World Cup Overall Leader’s bib as racing concludes tomorrow in Trondheim with a 10 k Freestyle Interval Start.

Women’s 20 k Skiathlon RESULTS

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