Ilar Surges, Diggins Rebounds in Oberhof 10 k

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When it comes to World Cup cross-country ski racing, season-long progress can be difficult for spectators and commentators to assess. It’s always hard to tell: are skiers getting faster? Are they fading? Or are they holding steady? This is the time of the season when event results begin to swirl and performances can become confusing. Three weeks from now, when the Olympics begin in Milano-Cortina, today’s winners could find themselves on the podium, or off the back. It’s all about the accuracy of their progression, the physiological and psychological costs of their efforts, their ability to remain healthy, and their commitment to the training peak that comes before the taper. And each skier handles it differently.

Jessie Diggins races . . . that’s what she does. Others rest, others taper, others plan and plot, others pick and choose. Diggins races, a level of every-week race commitment that has decorated her trophy case with three World Cup Crystal Globes. Diggins has said that she doesn’t rely so much on “tapering” for big events as she intends to continue progressing through the races of each successive week. It’s a strategy that has seen her reach extraordinary levels, but not always at the times when she might’ve hoped. Last season, Swedish contenders went home to train and recover in the weeks leading to the World Championshp in Trondheim. It was a successful strategy, as Swedish women—Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson, and Jonna Sundling—definitely dominated those events. The Swedes are, once again, back at home in the weeks before the Olympics. It will be fascinating to watch events unfold in the two weeks of Olympic racing. The Swedish strategy may work again . . . but on the days that those races are run, they’ll be forced to deal with the power and the intensity and the will of Jessie Diggins.

Olympic Talk

Much of the media coverage of late has been about Olympic qualification: will Norway continue to make their would-be Olympians jump through hoops? Will the USA consider finishes at US Nationals, rankings in SuperTour, point standings on the World Cup . . . or will coaches exercise discretion in filling the team? Those are interesting discussions—rife with intrigue and opportunity, with aspiration and realization, disappointment and heartbreak—but it’s also a conversation that concentrates more on likely Olympic also-rans, and less on the skiers whom fans really follow. Even in talent-rich Norway, the skiers most likely to claim medals in Milano-Cortina have already been named to the team. Same for Sweden. Same for the USA. The contenders are well known, and their tickets to the Olympics were punched long ago. So while some Olympic hopefuls continue working to climb the rankings toward eventual places on their Olympic teams, the races in Oberhof highlighted the efforts of those who may contend for medals in Milano.

And the Norwegians just keep coming . . . who is this Karoline Groetting getting her first world Cup start in Oberhof? Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes knows: Groetting is the upstart who nearly undid Fosnaes’ hopes of qualifying for an Olympic spot in Milano-Cortina. Fosnaes continued to elevate her profile with a win in the Norwegian National Championships 10 k, potentially paving the way for her naming to the Norwegian Olympic Team. She was followed onto the podium by Groetting who has now placed her name into the running for Olympic Team selections. Fosnaes has been a regular on the roster of the Norwegian Ski Team, but one who has from time to time, been viewed with skepticism by her countrymen, especially after her leaden performance in last season’s World Championship Team Relay in Trondheim all but handed the gold medal to Norway’s arch rival, Sweden. Fosnaes is a fine skier, a skier who would be a franchise player on the national team of nearly any other ski-country in the world. In any other country, Fosnaes would’ve been named to her Olympic Team two months ago. But as a skier competing for  Norway, she’s forced to keep racing and racing, always hoping to sufficiently impress the committee that selects the Norwegian Olympic Team. How interesting it is, then, that Fosnaes was not on the starting line today in Oberhof. Either she thinks she’s secured a spot on her Olympic team, or the committee selecting that team has already decided to stop looking at her. Either way, the focus today was on Groetting.

Oberhof 10 k Classic

With the Olympics remaining at the forefront of many contenders imaginations—and with resting for those races becoming a priority for many of those competitors—there were plenty of stars missing from today’s 10 k Classic start list: Finland’s Classic specialist, Kerttu Niskanen, is not on the starting line. Nor are Sweden’s Ebba Andersson or Frida Karlsson, Norwegians Astrid Oeyre Slind, Heidi Weng, Karoline Simpson-Larsen, or Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes (who is still yet to be named to Norway’s Olympic Team).

Chasing an Olympic berth of her own, American Hailey Swirbul was the final starter of the day in Oberhof; she seems to be making the very most of her return to World Cup racing.

“The smiles have been genuine!” beamed Swirbul. “I’m making sure to enjoy this life the most I can (but) I did not enjoy the feelings in the middle of this 10k today though, I won’t lie. I think a lot of us who came from Nationals, straight to international travel, straight to the World Cup were fighting some demons out there. It feels the most challenging, in my opinion, to find the will to keep fighting when your body feels heavy and the suffering feels unrewarding. But that’s also what keeps us coming back: the days where you can keep leaning into the discomfort and be in the fight and be rewarded for it is like no other feeling!”

“I was the last starter today,” Swirbul continued. “So I was getting splits to know where I stood. An interval start race is a unique mind game because you can’t gauge if the imaginary people on front of you are pulling away or starting to fade. You just have to focus on your own race and get around the course as fast as you can, regardless of how others pace. That is easier said than done, especially with higher expectations on the World Cup. I try to remember that I don’t need to do anything that I haven’t done before. I just want to try to race my own race, regardless of the stage it’s on.”

Contenders in Oberhof included Sweden’s Jonna Sundling, Maia Dahlqvist, and Moa Ilar (who is chasing Diggins in the season-long chase for the FIS Crystal Globe), Austria’s Teresa Stadlober, and newly discovered Norwegian phenom, Karoline Groetting. An early starter wearing bib 7, Groetting led the field at many of the early splits, and crossed the finish line with an advantage of 30 seconds over her nearest rival, and 37 seconds over her more famous countrywoman—and long-time national team member—Tiril Udnes Weng. But while Groetting settled into the leader’s chair, the more recognizable contenders began racing: Ilar, Stadlober, Sundling, and Diggins.

Diggins was 15 seconds behind Ilar at the 2.6 kilometer checkpoint. Ilar led again at the 5.8 kilometer mark, coming across 13 seconds ahead of Groetting. At the finish line, Karoline Hennig-Doetzler (GER) challenged Groetting’s time, but fell just six seconds short. Groetting dodged another bullet when Maia Dahlqvist crossed the lone a mere .1 seconds behind Groetting’s finishing time. It was a tremendous finish for Dahlqvist—best known as a sprinter—as she continues to show great form in the approach to Milano-Cortina where she will certainly be a capable partner for Sundling in the Team Sprint event.

It was later revealed that Diggins unusual split times resulted from her suffering quite a dramatic fall when her tip got caught in soft snow at the course’s edge.

“I think that the reason my splits looked a litle funny is that I had a crash on one of the downhill corners. I caught my tip in some really deep sugar, and used my arm as a brake to keep myself from sliding off the course!”

“It was time lost, and it was also a lot of adrenaline lost,” Diggins continued. “But it was honestly a really great practice in mental toughness, in refocusing, my energy and my attention on ‘what can I do in this moment. How well can I ski?’ I’m just really glad that’s really all that the crash was.”

Ilar crossed the finish line with an advantage of 31 seconds over Groetting, but there were still other stars shining brightly out on Oberhof’s Classic course. Stadlober had begun the chase back at 7.6 kilometers when she was still 17 seconds behind Ilar. The gap narrowed to 10 seconds at 9 kilometers, and Stadlober was pouring it on. Over the final kilometer, the Austrian flew in pursuit of the Swede, only to find herself falling short by the narrowest of margins. Ilar would hold on to win by .7 seconds showing that hers is the best Classic skiing form today. Even so, she was surrounded by serious rivals—Stadlober in second, Sundling in third, Diggins in fourth, Groetting in fifth—who may be on their way up.

Rosie Brennan has continued to navigate her return to world-class form. “I’m still living in a day-by-day world, trying to figure everything out,” she said. “I had some really good training at home but have struggled again for the last two weeks. I haven’t been able to discover a pattern, so I truly feel I have no control over when my body is ok and when it isn’t, and now I’ve added some vascular complications to the whole thing. I had to come race this weekend to qualify for the Olympics and I am very pleased to have accomplished that! Now I need to look forward as best I can to the Games and try to prepare as best as possible.

Brennan would finish the day in 30th, followed by Hailey Swirbul 33rd, Novie McCabe 35th, Alayna Sonnesyn 45th, Sammy Smith 49th, Kendall Kramer 54th. Alison Mackie led her Canadian teammates in 31st, followed by Sonjaa Schmidt 36th, Katherine Stewart-Jones 38th, Amelia Wells 56th.

Oberhof Women’s 10 k Classic RESULTS

FIS World Cup Distance STANDINGS (entering Oberhof)