March 23, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska) – A star-studded final in the SuperTour Final women’s 1.4-kilometer Classic Sprint was made to order for Alaska fans, as their favourite queen, Kikkan Randall (APU), once again proved to be the fastest claiming her second victory in as many days.

Group photo w/World Cup team at the finish (l-r) Caldwell, Brooks, Bjornsen, Diggins, Randall, Sargent © Rob Whitney

In the crowd watching was Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Nordic) who remembered lining up next to an Olympian at a Besh Cup some years ago trying to qualify for the junior nationals while she was attending South Anchorage High School. That Olympian was her idol Randall, who just happened to be in the same heat as Patterson that day.

“I remember being a bit star-struck at that point,” said the former University of Vermont standout who now races for the Green Racing Project. “She beat me by hundreds of meters.”

Patterson, who made it to the semi-finals in Sunday’s SuperTour CL Sprints, joined an estimated 500 spectators to witness the stacked field for the women’s classic sprint final – all six skiers were members of the U.S. Ski Team.

Group photo w/World Cup team at the finish (l-r) Caldwell, Brooks, Bjornsen, Diggins, Randall, Sargent © Rob Whitney

“Pretty cool to have all girls from the national team lined up and knowing it could be anyone’s race,” said Randall.

Anyone? Sure. But it was no surprise that it was Randall herself who triumphed for the second-straight day. The 31-year-old star, trailed top qualifier Sadie Bjornsen just before the final climb into the stadium, but the four-time Olympian powered up Elliot’s Climb and beat her Alaska Pacific University teammate by two seconds.

“Kikkan and I were coming up (Elliot’s) together, but then I started to slip and run out of power,” Bjornsen said. “Then she just took off.”

Sadie Bjornsen © Rob Whitney

Bjornsen (3:52) finished second and just in front of Ida Sargent (3:52.07). Sophie Caldwell (3:55) placed fourth, Jessie Diggins (3:59) grabbed fifth, and Holly Brooks (4:12) followed for sixth.

Bjornsen echoed Randall’s thoughts about how cool it was to race against teammates. “It was like an interval session,” she said. “Nothing was dirty. We were just skiing. It was fun having a hill up to the finish because it’s the strongest to the top who wins.”

Diggins © Rob Whitney

The start of 1.4-K loop is downhill and Diggins took an early lead toward the base of the hill. Once they came off a sharp turn, the pack was able to spread out and position themselves inside the tracks.

“It was literally like drag racing,” Randall said. Bjornsen found another gear and took the lead going into Elliot’s Climb, but Randall eventually snatched away that lead near the top. “At the end it was all noise and go, go, go,” Randall said.

Brooks in her quarterfinal © Rob Whitney

Patterson, who came second to Sargent in her quarterfinal but finished last in her semi won by Diggins, expressed how valuable it was to race against some of the world’s top skiers.

“Since these are our last races of the season, this will give us all motivation going into the summer to get a little faster and stronger,” she said. “I still have a ways to go but I’m starting to fit in more and more.”

Sargent © Rob Whitney

With just two more races to go until the end of the season — Tuesday’s mixed-relay and Friday’s 30-K classic part of the US National Championships — Randall seems to be looking forward to wrapping things up.

“I kinda feel like a fish on the deck flopping with whatever energy is left,” she said.

Qualifications here.
Results brackets here.

Women's podium w/APU mascot © Rob Whitney