January 01, 2016 (Lenzerheide, Switzerland) – Sophie Caldwell from Peru, VT, qualified a career-best second on her way to fourth overall in the women’s 1.5km FR Sprint at round one of the 8-stage Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, SUI. Four Americans qualified to the heats with Sadie Bjornsen just missing the final by a boot length as she claimed a personal best 7th with Jessie Diggins 8th when the dust settled. Heidi Widmer was the lone Canadian racing in Swiss colours and finished 41st.

Caldwell (#2) battles © Nordic Focus

Norway’s Maiken Falla earned her second freestyle sprint win of the season just 0.40 seconds ahead of Sweden’s Ida Ingemarsdotter in second, with Norway’s Ingvild Oestberg third.

“I was really happy with fourth place,” Caldwell said. “I felt really strong in my qualifier. My legs still felt great going into the second lap and I was psyched to qualify second – my best qualifier ever! In both my semi and my final I emphasized having a fast start and I think that made a huge difference.”

Falla wins © Nordic Focus

“It was exciting to get back to racing after a little break over Christmas. The course in Lenzerheide is another two-lap course that is a good mix of terrains. I felt really strong in my qualifier. My legs still felt great going into the second lap and I was psyched to qualify 2nd – my best qualifier ever,” said Caldwell.

Caldwell advanced through each round as a lucky loser all the way to the finals. Diggins won her quarterfinal while Bjornsen was second in hers. The two found themselves in the same semi where Bornsen was on the verge of taking second but a final lunge by Ingemarsdotter saw her miss the final by a mere two-hundredths of a second.

Bjornsen just misses the final © Nordic Focus

“I had a slow start in my quarter final and kind of spent the rest of the heat battling it out in the back, but I was lucky to have a fast heat and moved on as lucky loser,” added Caldwell. “In both my semi and my final I emphasized having a fast start and I think that made a huge difference. I was really happy with 4th place and we had another day of fast skis from our service staff. The tour is just getting starting and it should be an exciting week.”

Caldwell (#2) at the start © Nordic Focus

The US Women’s Head Coach Matt Whitcomb was stoked. “This was a huge day for the team and the right way to start the Tour de Ski. A couple things stood out today with regards to Sophie’s race. She blazed her qualifier and was able to enter the heats with full confidence. She’s had to ski harder than we’d like, so it was great to see her ski with such punch in the final. She’s learning how to win one of these things,” said Whitcomb.

Qualifications here.
Final results here.

Final podium © Nordic Focus