January 08, 2016 (Toblach, Italy) – The USA’s Jessie Diggins (USA) took the team’s momentum and turned today into GOLD as she stormed to victory in the women’s 5km FR race in Toblach, Italy, stage 6 of the 2016 Tour de Ski. Her victory comes on the heels of her teammate Sophie Caldwell’s (USA) top podium performance in the 1.2km CL Sprint last week.

“Today was just an incredible one for team USA. It truly takes a village, and we have one heck of a village! It feels unbelievable to have another World Cup win for our team, and I’m the happiest girl in the world today! My goal was to go out as hard as I could and really work those twisty downhills, and get every second I could out of each inch of the course. And our wax staff has been working so hard, and today my skis were truly the fastest in the world,” said Diggins

This is Diggins’s career first individual World Cup win and she had to deny the dominant Norwegians a sweep to do it as Heidi Weng (NOR) finished second, Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR) placed third, Ragnild Haga (NOR) took fourth, and Therese Johaug (NOR) grabbed fifth. The top three all finished within 1.5 seconds  of each other, while the top 10 were separated by only 10 seconds in what was an incredibly exciting race.

The USA’s Sadie Bjornsen (USA) was the next American finisher in 13th, followed by Liz Stephen (USA) in 26th, Rosie Brennan (USA) 33rd, and Caitlin Gregg (USA) 39th.

Oestberg holds onto the overall Tour de Ski lead by 25.3 seconds over Johaug. Diggins in the top-ranked American in 10th at 6:50.2 back.

“There are very few skiers in the world that can close down the final kilometer of a course like Jessie,” said Head Coach Chris Grover. “She was fierce and unrelenting on the downhills and flats leading back to the stadium; pushing extremely hard on her skis. We’ve been wowed by this ability of hers many times, most notably in the recent Lillehammer 4x5k women’s relay.”

Diggins of Afton, Minnesota, made her debut on the world podium when she won gold in the team sprint at the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in 2013 in Val di Fiemme, Italy with Kikkan Randall (USA). She also earned silver in the 10km FR race at the 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden.

Full results here.
Overall Tour de Ski standings here.