February 14, 2015 (Ostersund, Sweden) – With Falun 2015 around the corner Marit Bjoergen (NOR) showed her form taking home her 90th World Cup victory with a victory in the women’s 1.2km CL sprint competition in Ostersund, Sweden which last hosted a World Cup back in 1995.

Marit Bjoergen (NOR) © Nordic Focus

Fellow Norwegian and Olympic sprint champ, Maiken Caspersen Falla, claimed 2nd while fiesty Swede, Stina Nilsson, mixed it up all day with the red Norge machine with a well-earned third place result in the final.

The USA’s Sadie Bjornsen was the top North American qualifying 27th but ended up sixth in her heat finishing 20th on the day. Canada’s Perianne Jones returned to the World Cup with a solid 18th place qualification and was at the front during her quarterfinal but faded on the second lap placing fifth in her heat to end up 21st overall.

Sadie Bjornsen (USA) © Nordic Focus

American Sophie Caldwell qualified 24th and raced with her teammate Bjornsen finishing 5th in their heat and 22nd on the day. US star Kikkan Randall also returned to the World Cup caravan following a recovery/training break back home in Alaska but failed to advance finishing 51st.

We caught up with Bjornsen, Jones and Randall for their take on today’s races and their form coming into Falun 2015…

Sadie Bjornsen (USA)
It was so much fun out there racing today. It was a much different race than I have ever participated in, but I think it is really fun to add some extra challenge and twist to racing every once in a while. With all steep uphills and steep downhills… it wasn’t the conventional classic technique we were using. I am glad it wasn’t the World Championship course, but I had a huge blast visiting this course on the World Cup circuit. I had some great feelings both in the qualifier and in the heats.

With the extra challenge of “no coaches, techs or athletes allowed on the course before the race”, I didn’t manage to nail my skis for the qualifier. Fortunately, I just snuck into the heats, so I was given the opportunity for a better race in the heats. There was a lot of moving around, getting blocked up, and small opportunities out there. I feel like I found some openings, missed some openings, but finished feeling really confident with where my fitness is! I am really looking forward to  the sprint coming this Thursday in Falun on the World Champs course!

I will only be doing the sprint this weekend as I will head to Falun tomorrow and start preparing for Thursday’s race. I really enjoyed visiting Ostersund for the first time as it featured one of the more incredible World Cup crowds that I’ve seen.

The way the course was laid out, we literally skied through the grandstands twice – so the crowd added a special touch of excitement and motivation on the day. It was great to see and feel the great excitement in Sweden! I especially enjoyed starting with bib #14 on Valentines day – a great reminder to keep the day light and fun!

Perianne Jones (CAN) © Nordic Focus

Perianne Jones (CAN)

Yeah I’m feeling good. I was really happy with today, I had an awesome pair of skis, the techs did a great job. The conditions were super sugary yesterday in training, and then today they didn’t let anyone ski on the course before the race, and it was great. The course held up much better than it otherwise would have.

I started well in my quarterfinal, and then my legs just didn’t have it as I came through for the second lap. I’ll travel to Falun tomorrow with our sprint team, and prepare for the World Champs sprint.

I’m really happy with how I’m feeling. I chose to stay at home in Canada for the last month to train and race and prepare for Falun. I’m really happy with how things went today, and confident that I made the right decision – that plan was the best for me.

Kikkan Randall (USA) © Nordic Focus

Kikkan Randall (USA)

We raced one of the more unique and interesting courses I’ve ever seen on the World Cup today.  The organizers really got creative putting snow over and through the grandstands and up and over their biathlon range.  It was a tight course with steep climbs, making it technically challenging, but the atmosphere was amazing.

The course was kept closed until the start of qualification so we didn’t get a chance to ski it before the race today. As an early starter, I was one of the first few athletes out on course.

My qualification was not as strong as I was hoping for coming off a month-long break from racing, but it was good to be at least back in the routine again. I skied too tense and didn’t quite have enough tempo out there – kind of like blowing out the cobwebs.

I am still confident in my the recovery and preparation I’ve done over the last month.  It was a good decision to go home and get a chance to complete reset and get back to basics.  My training has felt quite productive in the last couple weeks and I am excited to test out my distance shape tomorrow in the 10km skate.

A couple races this weekend should be just what I need to get fired up for the start of World Championships on Thursday! I’m looking forward to kicking off with the classic sprint and hope to earn a spot on the team sprint and 4x5km relay teams. I will have lots of family and friends in Falun and I know it’s going to be a great atmosphere which I’m really looking forward to.

Qualifications here.
Final results here.

Women's podium © Nordic Focus