The top 5 teams in both men and women’s divisions of the team relays in Kuopio, Finland looked strikingly similar. In the women’s race it was, 1st-5th: Norway 1, Finland, Sweden, Sweden 2, and Norway 2. In the men’s race it was, 1st-5th: Norway 1, Sweden 1, Norway 2, Finland, and Sweden 2.
The format was a 3x3km for women and 3x5km for men, the first leg of each was classical and the last two legs were in the skate technique.
The U.S. women’s team of Annie Liotta, Kinsey Loan, and Katie Gill finished just behind the Scandinavian powerhouses with a solid 6th place finish out of 13 teams. They were just 1:13.9 back to the first place Norwegian team of Barbro Kvåle, Hilde Landheim and Cilda Buhrkall.
The second U.S. relay team consisted of Isabell Caldwell, Jessica Jortberg and Kate Backstrum. They placed 12th, 2:33.5 off the winning time.
The U.S. men’s team of Austin Cobb, David Sinclair, and Logan Hanneman finished 8th out of 14 teams, 2:35.4 behind the gold medal team of Martin Nyengat, Håvard Solås Taugböl, and Sindre Björnestad Skar from Norway.
U.S. racers Mike Vigers and Will Wicherski raced the first two legs but did not have a third relay partner and so did not qualify for a finishing place. Vigers had the 13th fastest split in his leg and Wicherski had the 12th fastest.
