February 27, 2008 (Stockholm, Sweden) – Here’s an inside look at the XC World Cup 1km Sprint Classic that took place on Wednesday (today) in the city of Stockholm by USA’s Kikkan Randall.

Cliff Notes

Only cliff notes today, it ended too soon to make much of a story. Arrived in Stockholm yesterday but due to warm weather and rain, we were unable to preview the course. Got about 45 minutes before the race to test skis and check the conditions. It started to rain just before the start. (The course is built with snow laid over the steps of the Royal Palace right on the water front).

I started bib #17 in the middle of the red group. I had a good start and double-poled with good momentum into the first corner. I got thrown wider than expected and scrambled to get back to the track I wanted to go up the hill. My stride was a little choppy up the hill to the high point, but I pushed hard over the top. My weight was a little back around the next hairpin turn and I almost lost my balance. Then a lot more double-poling. My power felt good and I pushed the tempo. Up the last gradual climb I jammed my skis down the track as fast as I could. Then I slid across the line in 16th place, +12.74 seconds back. (Final result 45th).

Like in Otepaa, I was a little surprised to see the large time gap. I guess I was just missing my sprint gear today. I’ll get another shot at sprinting on Saturday with a skate event in Lahti, Finland.

Cheers,
Kikkan 🙂