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Falun’s Sprint course rewards experience . . . but not every skier who possesses that experience pays very close attention. Skiers can get distracted by how they feel, by how their heat is shaping up, by the tactics of others. Sometimes, that sort of counter-punching can prove profitable. Not in Falun . . . not on most days anyway.
In Falun, skiers prepare for an infamous and well-known draft on the penultimate downhill . . . they either deal with that draft, or they find themselves out of contention. By now, every skier should know that whomever is leading at the top of the significant downhill is almost certain to be swallowed up by the field. Leading is a mistake, and it appears nearly impossible to establish enough of a lead to overcome the advantage gained by skiers speeding up from behind. Falun represents perhaps the most tactical—and most obvious—of all World Cup Sprint courses. And it will manufacture that same crucial factor next year when the World Championships are staged on this very same course. If skiers take advantage of watching replays of these races, they’ll begin to see that there’s only one tactic to employ in Falun . . . unless, of course, you just happen to be lots faster than everyone else, like Linn Svahn.
In the Sprint final, Svahn found herself forced to the front by a cagey Kristine Stavaas Skistad who positioned herself to take advantage of Falun’s infamous draft. What Skistad did not anticipate was the raw speed that Svahn would bring to the Final. Stuck as she was at the front, Svahn simply engaged the after-burners on the course’s penultimate uphill—a tactical decision that had proven disastrous for every other skier in Falun’s Sprint heats. Accelerate there, and you’re all but certain to get caught on the downhill. But Svahn is riding the crest of a wave that has carried her to the very top of the Sprinting world. The same speed she employed to claim dominant wins in both the Classic Sprint and Team Sprint in the Olympics a week ago continued to propel her to the top step of the podium in Falun. Skistad set things up well in the Sprint Final, but Svahn was simply too strong.
Nadine Faehndrich (SUI) continued her recent podium run in third place ahead of Coletta Rydzek (GER), Maia Dahlqvist (SWE) and Johanna Hagstroem (SWE).
Americans qualified two skiers into the heats—Jessie Diggins and Sammie Smith—both of whom would find themselves undone by Falun’s infamous draft in their quarterfinal heats. Diggins would finish the day 17th, Smith 23rd.
Canada’s Liliane Gagnon would qualify seventh, confirming her arrival on the international Sprint scene by advancing to the semifinal where she wold finish tenth on the day.
After the Olympics . . .
The Olympics are over, the biggest pressure is off, the medals are stowed safely away. Now it’s back to the re-start of the World Cup season that these skiers began months ago. Returning, as the skiers do now, to the post-Olympic season, this is a time when we may find out who is truly worn out from the Games, contrasted with who may have mis-calculated their peak for the Olympics, but may now find themselves in top shape as all those who collected Olympic medals are strangely and uniquely vulnerable.
The weeks following the biggest competitions are sometimes full of surprises, especially when a few of the medal-winners and event-dominators choose to stay home. Who can blame them? They spent weeks and months and years and careers building up to those Olympic Games. And those who succeed in claiming the medals that the media expected must then run the loving gauntlet of media attention and sponsor responsibilities that accompany Olympic success. After the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980, where the immortal speedskater Eric Heiden had proven to be unbeatable (winning all five of the five speedskating events), Heiden signed up for the All-Around World Championships, where he promptly got beat. Lesson learned: just because you’re the best one week doesn’t guarantee you’ll be the best every week . . . not after the insistent press, the pressing sponsorship responsibilities, and the adoring crowds have gotten done with you, anyway.
Switzerland has one of its medalists on the starting line, but not the other. Nadine Faehndrich is here, but no Nadja Kaelin (medalist in both the Team Sprint—with Faehndrich—and the 50 k). Sweden has its newly crowned Sprint Queen, Linn Svahn, in the lineup, but Jonna Sundling—Sweden’s former Sprint Queen—has stayed home. And of course the USA’s Jessie Diggins was here . . . isn’t she always here? Every weekend, every event, every starting line, Jessie Diggins lines up to race. That’s why she’s seemed nearly impossible to best in the season-long World Cup standings: she’s almost always signed up to race, and she’s almost never out of contention. It’s an astonishing level of durability and prolonged excellence, one that we’ll be able to enjoy and appreciate for only a few more weeks until her retirement . . . until that racer who we’ve known would always be there is no longer there. Believe me, we’ll miss Jessie Diggins terribly in seasons to come.
But, for the time being, Diggins has a World Cup Overall title to defend . . . a defense that would benefit from a few more Sprint points. Her fourth place qualifying time would reward her efforts, but she would ski impatiently in her quarterfinal, fining herself undone by the strategic draft that heat-leaders give up on Falun’s Sprint course. Diggins would finish fourth in a heat that was not fast enough to offer advancement as a lucky loser.
“It was my 357th World Cup start,” said Diggins. “It was just a really cool chance to feel extra grateful to my team, to look back on why that was possible, and to look at the bigger message for me here, that asking for help with my mental health got my physical health to a place where I could race this hard for this long . . . And the season isn’t over yet!”
Tactics on Display
The first quarterfinal involved Skistad and Svahn. Skistad dangled at the back mid-heat, but glided forward on the final downhill to finish second behind Svahn.
Liliane Gagnon (CAN) qualified seventh at the start of the day, and she skied strongly in the second quarterfinal (won by Switzerland’s Nadine Faehndrich) to claim a lucky loser spot, and a space in the semifinal.
Diggins headlined Quarterfinal 3. She led from the start but seemed hindered by slower skis onthe significant downhill. Diggins ran out of gas in the final straightaway as the heat was taken by Coletta Ryzek (GER) ahead of Moa Ilar (SWE).
Sammie Smith (USA) began the day aas the 19th qualifier, continuing to show the form that saw her named to the US Olympic Team. Smith lined up in Quarterfinal 5 where Julie Myhre (NOR) and Johanna Hagstroem (SWE) provided the early pace. Smith has begun to reveal a strategic preference: allowing herself to drop back into the field early on, then charging forward late in the race. She did that again in Falun, storming up the final climb. Unfortunately, experience suggests that the draft given up on Falun’s Sprint course is often the deciding factor, and Smith (like Diggins before her) found herself swallowed up on the descent. Hagstroem would take the heat win, ahead of Julie Bjervig Drivenes (NOR).
“I felt like I skied the hills really strong today and was disappointed with some of my tactical decisions,” said Smith. “Unfortunately, Falun is notorious for a large draft on the final downhill. I was trying to ski to my strengths today, but I should have been more patient and tried to tuck behind other skiers so I didn’t get drafted so much.”
“The more time I have on skis, the more races I get to do, the better I feel,” Smith continued. “I’m really looking forward to the last few weeks of the season.”
Tactics Confirmed—Sprint Semifinals
Semifinal 1 offered Skistad a chance at Redepption after a disappointing fifth place finish in the Olympic Classic Sprint,and she perhaps better than anyone else seemed to understand the importance of utilizing Falun’s draft. Gagnon streaked forward to contend with Svahn and Faehndrich, while Skistad and Rydzek—famously fast closers—lingered at the back. Skistad easily coasted back into contention in the draft of the long downhill, and was able to get to the tails of Svahn before the finish line. Those two would move on to the final while Rydzek and Faehndrich would wait to see if they would move forward as luckylosers.
The second semifinal involved a slate of Swedes: Moa Ilar, Moa Lundgren, Hagstroem, and the cagey veteran, Dahlqvist, who rarely leads in the early stages of heats. True to form, Dahlqvist hovered around third or fourth. Hagstroem would ski the downhill draft section to perfection, launching into the lead at the bottom, and followed across the line by Dahlqvist. Again, experience ahead of speed.
Tactics Defied
In the ongoing defense of her lead in the season-long Sprint standings, Dahlqvist had done her job in just getting to the Final. Her lead would be protected for another week in her quest to finish the season wearing the Sprint leader’s red bib. But the other skiers in the Final had other challenges in mind. Team Sweden’s Hagstroem, Svahn, and Dahlqvist matched up against Skistad, Faehndrich, and Rydzek. Skistad went to the front, where it appeared she would control the pace (and force others to go around her into the lead). Her tactic seemed to be working as Svahn found herself at the front. Skistad must’ve been pretty satisfied with that positioning . . . satisfied, that is, until Svahn applied the power. In just a few strokes, Svahn accelerated up the hill where no one else dared acccelerate, creating a massive gap that left Skistad in an unexpected panic.
While Skistad may be one of the fastest sprinters in the world, her strength is definitely not in quick acceleration. Though Skistad would chase gamely, Svahn was gone, the finish line photo making the result appear far closer than it really was. Faehndrich would hold on for third ahead of a fast-charging Rydzek. Dahlqvist would finish fifth, holding her lead in the World Cup standings, but seeing her lead shrink in the wake of Faehndrich’s podium performance. That season-long race is definitely tightening, and appears likely to be decided in the final World Cup weekend in Lake Placid.
Falun Women’s Freestyle Sprint RESULTS
Falun Women’s Freestyle Sprint QUALIFYING
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John Teaford
John Teaford 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.
