January 23, 2016 (Nove Mesto, CZE) – American Jessie Diggins blazed to her second individual World Cup podium placing third in the women’s 10km FR in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic on Saturday. Norway’s Therese Johaug claimed another World Cup victory with her teammate Astrid Jacobsen in second at 4.6 seconds back.

“I’m so happy with my race today! I had amazing skis and it was so exciting to have four US girls in the points. I skied the course as hard as I could and kept thinking about how I wanted to ski each section and each corner,” Diggins told Trax.

Snow fell throughout the day and caused the course to become soft and slow but Diggins fought for the podium the entire race, despite the tough conditions battling with Jacobsen for the lead until Johaug entered the mix. Diggins delivered a convincing third place finish  besting Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla and Norway’s Heidi Weng.

“To be less than 10 seconds out from the win in a 10k feels so great because I’m finally skiing with confidence, like I know I can win, and starting to believe that I have what it takes to podium on the World Cup,” she added.

Also in the points were Sadie Bjornsen in 14th, and Liz Stephen in 17th, and Rosie Brennan in 28th.

“I was really happy with today. I got sick after the Tour, so I haven’t done any intensity training so my feelings weren’t the best today. Fortunately, I was able to push through for a top 20 – I am finally confirming that I am a skate racer too. Thanks to the team for some speedy fast skis, and truly exciting to see Jess on the podium again,” said Bjornsen.

Brennan was also stoked to be in the points and talked about the Tour de Ski as well.

“I loved the Tour. I think that type of event suits me well and I am looking forward to more tour racing in the future. I think the Tour has helped me feel more race ready and am hoping for a strong second half of the season. I am satisfied with today’s race. The conditions were slow so it was hard to get positive feelings out there and starting as early as I did, I wasn’t sure how I was doing for much of the race, but I tried to just focus on working every section and maintaining the pace I was traveling at. I am starting to feel more like myself racing. I think the Tour helped get me into gear. It was unfortunate to end up on the backside of a tight group, but I guess that will leave me hungry for more,” shared Brennan.

Whitehorse’s Emily Nishikawa was the top Canadian in 44th. With illness rolling through the Canadian women’s camp, the young Canucks dug deep to gain additional experience on the elite circuit. Cendrine Browne, of St-Jerome, Que., was 54th, Dahria Beatty, also of Whitehorse, was 57th, while Maya MacIsaac-Jones (Athabasca, Alta.) was 61st and Katherine Stewart-Jones, of Chelsea, Que., was 62nd.

For US Head Coach Chris Grover it was a solid day. “Great racing by all of the U.S. athletes today. It was snowing all day and the track was a bit soft, and slower than it was yesterday, so it made for a grueling race. Jessie has definitely reached another level in her racing. She was battling for the podium the entire race. On the first lap, Heidi Weng was a bit ahead of her in the splits so it seemed like Jessie might have to settle for fourth. But Heidi faded a little on the second lap and Jessie kept the hammer down,” said Grover.

Competition continues Sunday in Nove Mesto with a 4×7.5k and 4x5k team relay.

Results here.