In the first freestyle mass start of the season, Jessie Diggins gave the Norwegians a run, ultimately finishing 15 seconds off the podium in fourth. Therese Johaug dropped teammate Heidi Weng in the final kilometers to secure her second win of the weekend and record-tying 14th World Cup victory overall.
In soft conditions, Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla busted apart the final of the women's classic sprint in Stockholm, Sweden. She saved her powerful stride and double pole for the last half kilometer, where she appeared to engage the afterburners, winning the day by 3.3 seconds.
Three American women cracked the top 25 in Sunday's 30 k classic at the world-famous Holmenkollen, finishing within 1.6 seconds of one another. Sadie Bjornsen led them in 22nd, closely followed by Liz Stephen in 23rd and Jessie Diggins in 25th. Rosie Brennan and Caitlin Patterson raced to 33rd and 36th, respectively, and Canada's Emily Nishikawa was 39th.
At Sunday's Holmenkollen 30 k classic mass start, Norway's Therese Johaug dominated. She won by a margin of 3:46.5 over teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg. FIS reports Johaug's margin of victory was the largest ever for a women's cross-country World Cup.
David Norris and Kelsey Phinney broke through on Day 1 of the Lake Placid SuperTour this past weekend in the Adirondacks of northern New York, while Caitlin Patterson rolled to another distance victory in the classic individual start on Day 2.
U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich. concluded last weekend with the 1.5 k classic sprints on the Michigan Tech Trails. Here are a collection of photos recapping the final day of the 2016 championships. Special thanks to Christopher Schmidt.
Kaitlynn Miller proved she's more than just a podium contender -- she can also be a race favorite -- after winning her first-ever World Cup title in the classic sprint at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sun Valley hosted the second set of SuperTour races -- with a classic sprint and classic mass start -- and we have an assortment of photos recapping the action.
With a tough psyche and plenty of team support, Chelsea Holmes raced to her first win of the season during the women's SuperTour 10 k classic mass start on Sunday in Sun Valley, Idaho, ahead of APU teammate Becca Rorabaugh in second and Craftsbury's Caitlin Patterson in third.
On a bluebird day in Sun Valley, APU's Becca Rorabaugh skied to her strengths to win the women's SuperTour classic sprint final, while Craftsbury skiers Kaitlynn Miller and Caitlin Patterson fed off their teammates' success to round out the podium in second and third.
With plenty of shovels and smiles, the Sun Valley crew is working hard to make both SuperTour races happen at the Lake Creek trails. "Putting the work in here gives the athletes an opportunity to test themselves appropriately on the kinds of courses that they need to be prepared to ski on," SVSEF Nordic Director Rick Kapala explains.
FS caught up with one of the most experienced elite female coaches club in the U.S., Pepa Miloucheva. Head coach for the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, Miloucheva details the path of the program, as well as her own, over the past 20 years.
Coming off her European World Cup debut, Craftsbury's Caitlin Patterson reflects on her races and experience in Finland and Norway, her 2014/2015 season in general, and what she's aiming for next year.
A trio of Americans finished in the top 20 of the final women's World Cup race of the season, a 30-kilometer freestyle mass start in Holmenkollen, Norway. Liz Stephen led the U.S. team in ninth, Jessie Diggins took 14th, while Caitlin Gregg capped off an eventful World Cup season with a 19th-place finish.