It's been a steady climb of success for the U.S. women's cross-country team. On Sunday in Nove Mesto, they took a collective step higher in the 4 x 5 k relay, placing second to a hard-charging Norway, while besting Finland by nearly 14 seconds.
Always the bridesmaid no more; Heidi Weng ended a streak of 37 World Cup podiums without a win on Saturday at Stage 7 of the Tour de Ski, beating out her teammates Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and Therese Johaug in the 10 k classic mass start. American Sadie Bjornsen placed ninth and Jessie Diggins 17th to head into the final stage in 12th and 10th, respectively.
Jessie Diggins fended off all challengers for her first individual World Cup victory -- that's right -- another one for the U.S. in the last three stages of the Tour de Ski. Diggins did so in the 5 k freestyle in Toblach, Italy, besting four Norwegians in the top five.
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.
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.
Therese Johaug's 9.9-second win over Norwegian teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg on Wednesday at Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski wasn't enough to take the overall Tour leader's bib from Østberg. Meanwhile, Heidi Weng stuck in third overall, and the U.S. women, led by Diggins and Bjornsen, continue to have two in the overall top 15 after both placed in the top 30 on Wednesday.
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.
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway picked up her first World Cup distance victory by doing the unthinkable: dropping seemingly unbeatable teammate Therese Johaug on an uphill. "It was a great victory for me, in many ways," said Østberg, who now leads the Tour de Ski by 14.3 seconds.
Therese Johaug attacked from the gun and began to run away with the lead just 800 meters into Saturday's 15 k classic mass start in Lenzerheide. The Norwegian World Cup leader won Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski to take the lead in the Tour by 4.5 seconds over teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg. Another Norwegian Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen had a scary episode at the finish.
After a close call in the quarterfinals, Sophie Caldwell advanced as a lucky loser - and adjusted her strategy, going all the way to the final where she finished fourth: "Fourth is always sort of a bittersweet place to get... But this is the best result I’ve had in a long time so I’m really happy with it."
Therese Johaug once again dusted the women's field, this time in the 10 k classic individual start at the World Cup in Toblach, Italy. There, two U.S. women finished in the top 20, about two minutes behind her.
Sweden's Stina Nilsson pulled off a last-minute move from third to first in the women's freestyle sprint in Davos to win her first World Cup, and Sophie Caldwell advanced as a two-time lucky loser to ultimately place sixth in the final. Her U.S. teammate, Jessie Diggins placed ninth overall, and two other U.S. women made the heats.
Therese Johaug raced to a 1-minute-and-10-second victory in the women's World Cup 15 k freestyle in Davos, Switzerland, and her teammate is calling the deficit scary. “She is completely a machine," third-place finisher Heidi Weng said. "What is it exactly you're made of?”
While Therese Johaug dominated the 10 k classic pursuit to win the Ruka Triple mini-tour, that wasn't the surprise - that would be teammate Heidi Weng finishing a lap early and losing both a podium finish and a lot of World Cup points. Sprinters Stina Nilsson and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg went 2-3 are beginning to make their names as distance skiers.
After today's 5 k skate in Kuusamo, Finland, Therese Johaug laughed remembering how short races used to be such a weak point for her. Not anymore: the Norwegian skied to a dominating 17.6-second victory over Charlotte Kalla of Sweden. That's 2% back in an 11-minute race.
For the second time this weekend, a Norwegian was disqualified during a race in Beitostølen, Norway, and missed out on a victory because of it. Maiken Caspersen Falla was first across the line in the women's classic sprint final, but subsequently relegated, leaving Russia's Natalia Matveeva with the win.
Therese Johaug proved that no amount of hand injuries (two to be precise) can derail the start to her season as she won her second-straight race in Beitostølen, Norway. "I had to dig deep the whole way, but these conditions are my advantage," she said of the heavy snowfall.
Therese Johaug rocketed to first in her first race of the season, the FIS 7.5 k classic opener in Beitøstolen, Norway. She did so with the help of perennial rival and teammate Marit Bjørgen, who is due with her first child next month.
To race at the World Championships at Holmenkollen on home turf in February is maybe one of the biggest moments in a Norwegian skier’s career. The Norwegian Ski Association just announced their criteria for naming athletes to that team.