January 28, 2017 (Falun, Sweden) – The USA’s Kikkan Randall skied to a breakthrough finish claiming 5th in the women’s 1.4km Sprint FR as Stina Nilsson became the first Swedish woman to win a World Cup in Falun. It was Randall’s best performance in nearly two years.

Nilsson edged out Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla in second a mere 0.01 behind with Overall World Cup leader Heidi Weng of Norway in third at 1.88 back.

The USA had a strong day in qualifying with five women making the top 30 field. Sophie Caldwell qualified third with Jessie Diggins fifth, Sadie Bjornsen was 17th, Randall was 26th and Ida Sargent was 30th. Rosie Brennan (USA) in 37th did not advance while Canada’s Cendrine Browne in 46th also did not make the heats. Liz Guiney (USA) finished 56th.

“Today sure was fun to be back in the final,” Randall said. “My sprint racing has been steadily improving all season and today was another step forward both in terms of getting closer to that top race feeling and building my confidence. Now with a month to go until World Championships and a good training block ahead, I am feeling optimistic and excited about where my trajectory is headed.”

Diggins and Randall advanced to the semis after finishing second in their respective quarterfinals – the fastest two heats of the round. Diggins was 0.33 behind Norway’s Maiken Jaspersen Falla while Randall was 0.62 behind Swede Hanna Falk.

Fate saw both Diggins and Randall in the same semifinal that featured a star-studded heat with Falla and Falk. Diggins suffered an unfortunate fall, finishing fifth, but Randall went on to finish second at 0.35 seconds behind Falla, to move on to the finals.

“I’m really proud of how I skied today,” Diggins said. “My energy felt awesome, my tactics worked well and I felt like my leg speed was where it needs to be with the World Championships coming up. Of course, with my eyes on the podium it would have been awesome to not have a spill, but overall I’m happy with where my body is. I’m slowly getting my sprint heat confidence this season and it’s great to feel like I’m able to see the windows open up and be able to move through them.”

Caldwell, who finished 16th on the day, told Trax, “It was a solid day for me with some moments of greatness and some things I wish I had done differently. I was thrilled with my qualifier and felt like I paced it well. I maintained a solid position for most of my heat before getting passed by a couple people towards the end of the course. Even though I was determined to make it to the semis, I’m confident with my fitness and really happy with my qualifier.”

Bjornsen was also happy with her day. “A fun day of sprinting out there today. I once again struggled to find my opening with sprint racing, just getting stuck every time I tried to get to the front of the pack. I haven’t yet found my sprinting tactics for myself, but each time I try, I learn a little something. Learning is part of this game. Super fun to see Kikkan so strong today! I’m really happy for her!! I am really looking forward to tomorrow,” commented Bjornsen.

In the finals, Nilsson and Falla stole the show in a photo-finish, with Nilsson taking the win. Randall was fifth, 2.56 seconds back.

“I purposely tried to stay relaxed in the first half of each race and then move up coming into the stadium,” said Randall. “That tactic worked great in the quarters and semis and I was really happy with how strong I was skiing the finish stretch. I stuck with that tactic again in the final only this time I got trapped behind Sundling when the break happened and I lost the crucial draft. Almost made it back into the race for third but wasn’t able to bridge that last gap before the final stretch.”

Qualifications here.
Final results here.