December 30, 2012 (Oberhof, Germany) – The US Women’s team lead by Kikkan Randall have had a great start to the Tour de Ski. Randall took the opening 3km FR Prologue to don the race leader’s bib for the first time at the Tour as Holly Brooks in 11th and Liz Stephen in 21st also landed in the points.

Kikkan Randall (USA) © Nordic Focus

At today’s Stage 2 Pursuit-style 9km CL Randall was the lead off skier and did her best to hold off eventual winner Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) and the chasing posse, settling for 14th on the day.

Stephen was 23rd and Brooks took 25th, while Jessie Diggins, who is debuting at the Tour, moved into 50th from 62nd. We caught up with Randall, who celebrates her 30th birthday tomorrow (congrats from your pals at SkiTrax), Brooks and Diggins for their take on the Tour.

Full Stage 2 results HERE.

Kikkan Randall (USA) – 14th Stage 2
Today was a tough one for me. It was really fun to start in the Leader’s Bib and I did the best I could to make Kowalczyk work to catch me. I was happy to stay ahead for most of the first lap. I tried to hang on to her pace but she was skiing a little bit more powerfully than me. I skied most of the 2nd lap with Kalla and was feeling pretty good. Then a big pack caught us going into Lap 3 and I was struggling to match their power.

Kikkan Randall (USA) © Nordic Focus

Once I got tired, it was hard to make the skis work in the soft snow. I was really struggling in the last 1km and just tried to hold my position to the finish. In classic skiing right now, I just can’t seem to find that next gear. I know it’s coming and each race gets a little better. While I lost some time in the overall today, I’m still confident, especially with a couple more skate races up next.

I’m really excited about the sprint coming up in two days!! We have no idea what the course will be like but it will be fun to be in a totally new venue (plus I hear they’re crazy about xc skiing!).

Tomorrow is my 30th birthday and I’m pretty psyched to be hitting such a landmark. I used to dream of the skier that I would be when I turned 30 and I’m happy that I have lived up to my expectations!! Would have been fun to race on my birthday but we will have a fun time using the day to rest up and prepare!!

Busy times! Just got out of the ice tub and massage, now into the van for the next four hours! Two down, 5 to go!!

Holly Brooks (USA) – 25th Stage 2
Yep – two soft days in a row! The classic skiing out there was tough and the course was breaking down with each lap. I had a hard time finding the kick out there but there were many, many girls herringboning! More practice on Eagle Glacier is needed, I suppose! There were also some high-speed turns which in a pack were quite exhilarating…it certainly called for good, clear & LOUD communication!

Holly Brooks © Rob Whitney file photo

I am excited to be leaving Oberhof and I’m not the only one. I was speaking with one of the top German girl on their team who was quite excited to be leaving herself! I’m not quite sure why we start the Tour here every year because I have yet to find someone that likes it!

Switzerland and a brand new racing venue will be a welcome change for everyone!! We’re driving four hours tonight, spending the night half way and then driving three more tomorrow morning.

Racing the Tour also calls for excellence in recovery and logistics! The recovery routine keeps us busy – jogging, ice bath, massage and food every day is important and takes up quite a bit of time.

More soon! Thanks for covering us!

Jessie Diggins (USA) – 50th Stage 2
I feel like some aspects of today definitely went well…I was able to stay calm and relaxed through the chaos of everyone starting so close together, and skied the downhills the way I wanted to.

Jessie Diggins © Nordic Focus file photo

The course was tough as it rained followed by sleet/snow all just before the race. In such soft grainy snow the waxing and ski selection didn’t go the way I had hoped and I definitely should have done a better job of getting more kick since I herringboned about half of the uphills. But that is classic racing – you need to be able to hit all the variables just right! And lots of skiers were slipping out there in super mushy snow.

So far the Tour has been a really fun experience and so different from any racing I’ve done before since there’s so much travel and right away you need to be focusing on the next event. It’s super cool!