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Cross-country ski racing fans know how the Women’s field races—flat out, wire to wire, merciless. That’s what made Falun’s 2 x 10 k Skiathlon look like an indicator of just how challenging and exhausting last week’s Olympic races must’ve been. The predicted contenders were together at the front, but the pace was unexpectedly conservative.
“When Karlsson is ‘on,’ she goes for it,” said on-screen commentator, Kikkan Randall. But Frida Karlsson (SWE) wasn’t going for it. She skied to the front of the Skiathlon field numerous times, but never seeming to have an intention to truly press the issue, or to attempt to break away. Fans will remember that Karlsson fell ill during the Olympic Games (after gold medals in both teh Skiathlon and the 10 k Freestyle), eventually choosing not to start the 50 k Classic where she had been the odds-on favorite to take gold. That race was only one week ago, so if Karlsson was then too sick to ski, it’s not inconceivable that she might still be feeling the effects of that sickness. Usually, Karlsson would race from the gun. Not today . . .
In a race that was oddly lacking for fireworks, the three prime contenders still managed to separate themselves from the rest of the field . . . but not from each other. Twenty kilometers of measured racing came down to a three-way sprint in a crowded finishing straightaway. With 50 meters remaining, Karlsson, Jessie Diggins (USA), and Heidi Weng (NOR) sprinted in a three-abreast dead heat, a drag race that was ultimately won by the narrowest of margins by a resurgent Weng. Diggins would finish a breathtaking .1 seconds behind, with Karlsson less than a second behind her.
Canadian skiers posted impressive finishes with Liliane Gagnon 17th, Alison Mackie 20th, Jasmine Drolet 37th, and Olivia Bouffard Nesbitt 41st.
Just behind the lead group, Kendall Kramer (USA), would post a career-best placing, skiing forward from her #35 starting position to finish the day in ninth. Other American finishers included Hailey Swirbul 33rd, Rosie Brennan 35th, Novie McCabe 42nd, and Emma Albrecht 44th.
“I must have gotten a 50k fitness boost they talk about!” said Kramer. “This felt like the easiest race all season, and I could go faster at every point, felt in control and like I had more and more energy. I got a lot of semi-altitude training done during the Olympics and have just been enjoying skiing around since then! Usually, I falter off during the spring due to a long XC running season before Nordic starts, so without that this year, things look a little different with trajectory.”
Classic Leg
Falun’s racing conditions would be challenging for ski technicians: 1.2 degrees Celsius (just over 34 degrees Fahrenheit) with very high humidity. Snow had fallen earlier in the day, so a nightmare wax-scenario was a very real possibility. And struggling through the ten kilometer Classic leg can prove disastrous. Randall mentioned the difficulty of preparing skis for the day’s conditions. “Many of the skiers had brought both pairs of skis to the start line . . . deciding which way to go,” she commented. Having been in that position, herself, during her long and storied World Cup career, Randall described the situation as “nerve wracking.”
Karlsson, Weng, Simpson-Larsen, and Diggins al seemed to be in possession of expertly prepared skis; they went to the front to begin making pace. Moa Ilar (SWE)—Diggins’ primary challenger in the season-long World Cup standings—appeared to struggle initially as her skis proved slick on the uphills.
Mackie latched on to the tail of the chase group as well, though she appeared to be struggling bravely with slippery skis. Early in the race, Kramer maneuvered through the field to overcome her early start position, skiing forward into a chase group that hovered ten seconds behind the leaders.
“I had perfect skis in Classic—kick every step and shooting ahead on the downhills,” said Kramer. “So I was granted some standing up rest time. I could double pole more than other girls were doing and that saved me a lot of leg energy. A good classic day does not always happen for me, but when I get the perfect kick (thank you, Per-Erik!!!) classic is very comfortable for me. When I am sloppy, I can’t hang with the pack at the start and am out of it from the beginning. I was happy to actually execute my fitness and stay with the leaders from the start and hang on from there- I’m learning in World Cup mass starts, if you’re not in it from the start (sprinting off the line), you’re out of it, so that was knowledge I carried with me here!”
As the pace settled, Diggins appeared confident, Weng appeared determined, Karlsson appeared tentative. Diggins would win top bonus points (15) at the 5.4 kilometer bonus sprint. Her closest World Cup rival, Moa Ilar, was eighth, earning three points. After ten kilometers of racing, the leading three would approach the ski exchange together. Diggins entered the ski exchange in front, but a bit of extra fiddling with her pole straps cost her time. She would start the skate leg near the back of the ten-skier lead group.
Kramer’s high start number meant her ski exchange gate was far down the line from the leaders (and off camera). Throughout the Classic leg, she had continued to press forward through the field, moving up to eighth place on the course and re-establishing contact with the lead pack. A slower exchange left her off the back of the lead group as the skate leg began. Still, Kramer’s position was only 11 seconds behind the leaders.
Freestyle Leg
The skate loop would include Falun’s infamous climb, the Mördarbacken. Karlsson went to the front up the climb, followed by Weng. Diggins seemed content to remain within the lead group while her rivals did the work. Having been gapped slightly after the ski exchange, Kramer settled into a three-person chase group with Maia Dahlqvist (SWE) and Nora Saness (NOR).
Another bonus sprint was offered at the 14 kilometer mark. And the slower pace had allowed Ilar to rejoin the lead group along with Daria Nepryaeva (AIN). Ilar would finish third at the bonus, earning 12 points. But she would make up no distance on Diggins who crossed first to earn 15 points.
The slower pace of the day had also allowed another dark horse to sneak into contention. With five kilometers to go, the leaders became aware of the presence of Olympic Sprint champion, Linn Svahn (SWE) wearing bib 32. Always a capable Distance skier throughout her career, Svahn is enjoying a period of great form in these days following the Olympics. If the leaders failed to drop Svahn before the finishing straightaway, she would definitely steal the whole race.
Karlsson had not skied like herself this day, but when she saw Svahn in the lead pack, something seemed to click. Straight to the front went Karlsson. But it was a counter-attack by Weng that truly animated the race. Up a steep climb, Weng raised her tempo and established a bit of a gap over Karlsson. Behind them, Diggins tried to limit the damage in third, followed by a wobbling Nepryaeva and a game Svahn who appeared calm in her willingness to let a gap develop. Nobody panicked yet, but Weng had made her intentions clear. With four kilometers to go, she was committed to the finish line.
Diggins is a seasoned and experienced racer with enough mass-start races under her belt to know that gaps can be overcome by skiers who resist panicking on the parts of the course that are their weakness, and taking advantage of those parts of the course that are their strengths. For Diggins, her strength is found in the downhills where she is often able to close gaps. She knew she might still have a chacne to bridge up to Weng and Karlsson. With three kilometers remaining, Diggins regained contact.
Weng continued applying pressure, with the top three establishing a considerable gap ahead of Svahn. Within the final two kilometers, Karlsson again moved to the the front. She would know that her career results placed her no better than third among the sprint abilities of this lead group. Either she would drop Weng and Diggins, or one of them would snatch victory from her.
The final kilometer of the Freestyle loop re-traces the finish of Falun’s Sprint course, where it’s well known that leading over the final hill can be disastrous. Falun’s infamous draft favors those who follow up the hill and slingshot down the other side. Karlsson continued to insist on leading, though all three contenders seemed to stall at the top of the final uphill where Karlsson had still not managed to gap Weng, and while Diggins struggled she did not lose contact. With the Sprint-draft downhill ahead of her, Karlsson was in an unenviable position. She managed to maintain her position at the front as the trio entered the finishing straightaway. Fortunately, that straightaway was groomed three skiers wide, as the leaders charged toward the line three abreast. With 20 exhausting kilometers already in tehir arms and legs, the sprint would be as much about resolve as it was about sprint ability. Karlsson took the middle, Diggins eased past her on skier’s right, but it was Weng on the left who proved to have the most energy remaining. Four years removed from her last individual World Cup victory, Weng raised her arms in victory, elation, and relief. Diggins would cross just .1 seconds behind her, and less than a second ahead of a totally spent Karlsson.
Svahn would finish fourth, 11 seconds behind, just ahead of Nepryaeva. Kramer would conclude her day in ninth place, posting the best finish of her young World Cup career.
Diggins continued to extend her lead in the race for the 2026 Overall World Cup Crystal Globe, a competition that will be decided—and a trophy that will be awarded—at the season-concluding races a few weeks from now in Lake Placid, New York.
Falun Women’s Skiathlon Sprint RESULTS
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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.
