January 15, 2017 (Toblach, Italy) – The USA’s Kikkan Randall and Sophie Caldwell claimed 10th in the Women’s Team Sprint as Russia’s Natalia Matveeva secured the victory in a three-way photo finish over Sweden and Norway at the Toblach World Cup on Sunday.

Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla led into the final corner but was unable to hold off Sweden’s Hanna Falk and Matveeva who took the outside lane in the sprint to the line for the win.

Team USA battled back from 15th as the pace was brutal from the start. “With 15 teams in the final it was pretty busy those first few laps,” said Randall who skied the fastest leg in the second round. “I just tried to stay relaxed in the pack on my first round. On the second round I tried to move up but it was really hard to find space to get around. I was always able to make up a few places coming off the last turn before the tag zone.”

For Caldwell it was a challenge as she was spent from her effort in the semi and the final turned out to be a race of survival.

“While I always love the opportunity to do a team event, I think I was running on fumes today. The semi final went well, but I didn’t have too much left in me for the final, so was bleeding some time on pretty much all parts of the course. It was fun to team up with Kikkan, but I was hoping for some better feelings out there. Maybe the stomach bug took a little more out of me than I was hoping. I had to go to the hospital on Monday and then it took a few days to get my normal appetite back, so maybe I had enough to make it through yesterday, but today was pretty painful,” she said post race.

Randall also loves the team sprint for the “fun” factor and was happy with their semi final. “The semi final was pretty chill.  I was able to move up on the final hill and come off the final turn with some good speed to grab 3rd for a good start position in the final.”

In the final the the tag zone was always chaotic. “Matveeva almost took Sophie out on the 2nd tag.  We were still right with the lead group going into Sophie’s last lap. She laid it out there up the first climb but I think the effort caught up with her and we lost touch with the leaders before the last tag,” Randall continued.

Norway’s Astrid Urenholdt Jacobsen blew the race open on her final leg and made it a four-team race with Germany chasing Norway, Sweden and Russia. In the end the Germans settled for 4th a mere 0.36 seconds off the podium. For Matveeva’s partner, Yulia Belorukova, the current U23 World Cup leader, it was her first podium.

“The team sprint is one of the hardest race formats but also one of the funnest. “I was happy with how I felt today, another step closer to my top race form,” added Randall. “At the World Championships this year the team sprint will be classic so it could play out a little differently than today. We just need more durability so we can stay in the fight all the way until the last round and then I think we have several finishers on this team that could be in the hunt for a podium.”

For Caldwell it’s a time to regroup. “I’m looking forward to getting in some solid training and focusing on eating back the energy I lost earlier this week from being sick. It’s a bummer to have a bad race, especially in a team event, but all I can do is look ahead and try to put this one behind me. Pretty awesome to see the Canadian boys take the W today. If it’s not going to be the U.S., I’m always voting for our neighbors,” she concluded.

Results here.