March 01, 2014 (Lahti, Finland) – The USA’s Kikkan Randall and rookie teammate Sophie Caldwell made history in the women’s 1.55km Sprint FR today in Lahti, Finland, as Randall topped the field for the win and Caldwell out-lunged Italy’s Gaia Vuerich for the bronze marking her career-first World Cup podium and the first-ever double World Cup podium for U.S. women.

“It’s a fun course here in Lahti and conditions were definitely challenging today with ice underneath deep sugary snow on top which contributed to more crashes than usual. Always a bummer to have a crash in the finals. I pushed really hard all the way to the line and it was super fun to share the podium with my teammate today.  Sophie is having an incredible breakthrough season,” Randall told Trax post-race (full interview below).

The crucial victory puts Randall back in the lead of the overall World Cup Sprint Cup standings as she aims to defend her title and bring home her third-straight Sprint Cup globe.

“It feels really good and is definitely sinking in. I couldn’t think of a better way to get my first World Cup podium than sharing it with Kikkan,” shared Caldwell with SkiTrax on achieving her first World Cup podium (full interview below).

Soft snow conditions led to some fateful crashes during the day, including both finals, as recently crowned Olympic champ Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR), who was in the lead suddenly went down taking Vesna Fabjan (SLO) out as well. Randall and Caldwell were behind and able to escape the melee and hammered home for their historic podium.

Randall and Caldwell were the only North Americans to advance to the heats as Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR) topped the qualifications. Not advancing were Canada’s Perianne Jones in 34th, Ida Sargent (USA) in 44th, Alysson Marshall (CAN) in 46th, Heidi Widmer (CAN) 47th (tie), Jennie Bender (USA) 58th, Andrea Dupont (CAN) 59th, Holly Brooks (USA) 66th, Caitlin Gregg (USA) 68th, Cendrine Browne (CAN) 71st and Elizabeth Stephen (USA) 75th.

The two Americans both delivered the goods to make the semis in good standing as Randall won her heat and Caldwell was second behind Hanna Falk (SWE). Fate had the two Americans in the same semi as Randall took second behind Fabjan with Caldwell 3rd – but she advanced to the final as a Lucky Loser (her first time as an LL). Randall’s longtime rival Marit Bjoergen (NOR) was not able to punch her way thru the crowded lanes in her semi and was eliminated.

In the final Randall and Caldwell were in 5th and 6th as Falla took the lead with Fabjan close behind when the Norwegian suddenly went down in the soft snow and Fabjan caught her ski and was spun out. Both Americans were able to sidestep the carnage and now it was a 4-skier race.

Randall reeled in Vuerich and leader Katja Visnar (SLO) passing her over the final roller into the finishing lanes for the win as Caldwell chased down Vuerich and executed a perfect lunge to nip the Italian at the line by a boot for her first World Cup podium and and a historic day for the US camp – interviews with both Randall and Caldwell below.

Qualifications here.
Final results here.

Interview with Kikkan Randall (USA) – 1st

How are you feeling post Sochi… ?
I’ve actually been feeling more energetic and more in race shape since Sochi.  We’ve had good training this week here in Lahti and it’s been good to be back down at sea level.

Talk about the course and conditions in Lahti…
It’s a fun course here in Lahti and they added a couple of fun elements this year with a roller bump in stadium and a little uphill rise into the stands before the finish.  The conditions were definitely challenging today.  It was icy underneath with deep sugary snow on top.  There were very specific lanes to ski in which I think contributed to more crashes than usual.

You skied your quarter and semi with your usual panache – talk about your strategy today.
I could tell my race feelings were more back to normal that made me confident that I could make strong moves in different parts of the course.  I knew it was going to be important to come into the finish stretch in first or second so I made sure to get towards the front in the 2nd half of the course.

In the final you were in 5th… did you have a tough start ?
The start lanes were icy and I was having trouble keeping my balance for the start command.  My start in the final was my worst start of the day and I was definitely further back than I wanted to be.

Great that you could avoid the crashes in front of you…
Always a bummer to have a crash in the finals.  I like it better when it’s a fair head to head race with the best.  I was stuck in the back trying to find a way through when the crash happened.  I felt my skis glide over someone else’s skis that went down and was just glad I snuck by without going down.

Talk about the finish…
I pushed really hard going into the bump in the stadium and carried great momentum up and over.  My legs still had good power to the finish so I just focused on staying balance and pushing hard all the way to the line.  Last year I barely won the lunge over Marit so I knew it was important to push all the way through the finish.

Defending your Sprint Globe will be tough but you’re now leading again… how do you see things playing out ahead ?
It’s going to be a tough battle with two more classic sprints left.  I am glad the good race feelings are back and I’m hoping to find the strong classic form I had at the beginning of the season.  I knew I needed a big race today so it’s great to have a chance to defend the globe now!

What’s up next for you ?
Skate race tomorrow!!  I think my fitness is good and I’m hoping to sharpen with each race now.  It’s of course a big bummer that I had that lull in my shape during the Olympics.  I’m still not quite sure what went wrong.  But at least I’m coming back into form so I can hopefully end the season on a good note.

It was super fun to share the podium with my teammate today.  Sophie is having an incredible breakthrough season and it’s so fun to head to the start with your teammate.  I’m super impressed with her trajectory and I’m looking forward to pushing each other and the other girls to the next level!

Sophie Caldwell (USA) – 3rd

Congrats on your great skiing today and first WCup podium in Lahti… very cool – how does it feel ?
It feels really good and is definitely sinking in. I couldn’t think of a better way to get my first World Cup podium than sharing it with Kikkan.

How’s your energy and condition post Sochi… ?
I had been fighting a cold since the end of Sochi, so I’m psyched to finally be feeling healthy again. I think we were all pretty tired after the Olympics, but we’re going to bounce back just fine!

Talk about the course and conditions in Lahti…
The conditions were really sugary today. It was definitely a leg burner trying to push through all that soft snow. It was a fairly flat course as far as World Cups go, but the soft conditions made it a lot tougher.

You skied a strong quarter and and made the final as LL with a fast semi in third – tell us about the heats.
That was the first time I had ever been a lucky loser! Today was a really tactical race. There weren’t many places to pass because it was a narrow course, so when you saw an opportunity you had to go for it. We had really fast skis, so we were able to make some passes on the downhills, but you also had to be smart about pushing over the bumps and choosing the best line.

In the final you were in 6th place – great that you could avoid the crash ahead…
Yeah that was lucky! Kik and I were both able to dodge the crash and lucky we weren’t a part of it.

You attacked at the end and beat the Italian by a boot – talk about the finish…
I think that’s the first lunge I’ve ever won, so it was nice to do it where it really counts. I’ve been practicing lunges with my coaches, Gus and Matt, a lot this year so it’s nice to see it paying off!

What’s up next for you ?
I won’t be racing tomorrow, but I head to Oslo on Monday and will race Drammen on Weds and then on to World Cup Finals!