Jessie Diggins captured the second win of the Tour de Ski for the U.S. Ski Team on Friday at Stage 6 of the Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy. She fended off four Norwegians in the top five, and improved to 10th in the Tour.
An assortment of photos featuring some of the top moment's from Thursday's 20 and 30 k freestyle mass starts at 2016 U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich.
Caitlin Patterson snagged her second title of the week in as many distance races at U.S. nationals in the women's 20 k freestyle mass start on Thursday -- her third podium of the week. She edged Chelsea Holmes by 4 seconds, and Stratton's Katharine Ogden, Anne Hart and Erika Flowers landed in the top five.
Think of it as nationals Part II. After two races to kick off the 2016 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Houghton, Mich., (the 10/15 k classic and skate sprint), athletes and coaches had two days off to prepare for the last two races on Thursday and Saturday: the freestyle mass start and classic sprint, respectively.
Photos from Wednesday's 10/15 k classic mass starts at Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski, including those who landed on the podium and several American and Canadians in action. Courtesy of Marcel Hilger.
The second day of U.S. nationals took place Monday with the 1.5-kilometer freestyle sprint on the Michigan Tech Trails. Here's a photo gallery featuring some of the top finishers of the day.
Sophie Caldwell mainly had one tactic on Tuesday, and it put her in prime position for the best race of her career: “Push it over the tops, stick on Ingvild on the ups, and have a strong finish," she explained. The American ended up beating Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and another Norwegian, Heidi Weng, to achieve her first World Cup victory.
A collection of photos highlighting the North Americans in Tuesday's classic sprint at the fourth stage of the Tour de Ski. Sophie Caldwell made history as the third U.S. woman to win a World Cup race. Photos by Marcel Hilger.
Emil Iversen lived up to his breakfast-table proclamation on Tuesday and won his first World Cup race, ahead of Russia's Sergey Ustiugov and Kazakhstan's Alexey Poltoranin in the men's classic sprint, Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski.
Len Valjas double poled past Italian sprint star Federico Pellegrino at the end of the first men’s classic sprint quarterfinal to earn a spot in the semifinals and ultimately lead the North American men in 10th in the fourth stage of the Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf, Germany.
Sophie Caldwell beat two Norwegians en route to her first career World Cup victory on Tuesday -- winning the women's classic sprint at the Tour de Ski Stage 4 and becoming the only other U.S. woman besides Kikkan Randall to win a World Cup race.
On the second day of U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich., Reese Hanneman topped defending champ Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess by 0.35 seconds in the freestyle sprint. After winning the qualifier, Hanneman continued his winning streak straight through to the final. Two Canadians reached the final, Julien Locke and Evan Palmer-Charrette, as did Fredrik Schwenke and Miles Havlick.
Jennie Bender was the fastest of the day in every sense possible at U.S. nationals on Monday, winning the skate-sprint qualifier followed by her quarterfinal, semifinal and ultimately, the final by 0.61 seconds over Anne Hart. Runner-up Hart achieved a career-best result, and Caitlin Patterson secured her second-straight podium in Houghton.
With the longest races of the Tour de Ski out of the way, sprinters Andy Newell, Simi Hamilton, Sophie Caldwell, and Ida Sargent are looking forward to the classic sprint on Tuesday. They may continue the Tour a stage or two, seeking to score World Cup points in a distance event.
Didrik Tønseth admits that a plan that seemed smart in the morning didn't seem so smart after the race was over - and after Norwegian teammate Petter Northug left him for dead on the trails. With just one more sprint to get out of the way, the distance specialist still hopes for a top Tour de Ski finish.
After her brother Scott Patterson won the opening race of U.S. nationals on Sunday, the men's 15 k classic, Caitlin Patterson joked that she had to match him. "That was encouraging, but also a little bit of competition," she said. Both rose to the top spot of their respective men's and women's podiums.
The U.S. Cross Country Championships opened Sunday in Houghton, Mich. with the Patterson siblings sweeping the top spots on the men's and women's podiums. Here is a collection of photos recapping the action.
Americans Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen skied another pair of consistent races, keeping themselves in the top 10 overall in the Tour de Ski. Liz Stephen moved up to 22nd place, while Sophie Caldwell called her effort "maybe my best-ever distance race" in 27th.
Canada's Alex Harvey started seventh and finished ninth to maintain his place in the top 10 of the Tour de Ski after three stages, and American Noah Hoffman posted the 17th-fastest time of the day to finish in the top 25 for the second-straight day in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby maintained his Tour de Ski lead, winning Sunday's 10 k freestyle pursuit by 1:25.2 over Norwegian teammate Petter Northug, who pulled a controversial move on another teammate, Didrik Tønseth, in the final lap of the Stage 3 race. Finn Hågen Krogh moved into third, avenging a self-inflicted crash on Saturday.