December 29, 2018 (Toblach, Italy) – American Jessie Diggins raced to her first podium of this season in the women’s 1.3km FR Sprint on Saturday as the 13th annual Tour de Ski got underway in Toblach, Italy. Sweden’s Stina Nilsson skied away from the field in the final kilometer to win by three seconds over teammate Ida Ingemarsdotter in second with Diggins coming from behind to claim third.

“While a podium is always awesome and exciting, I was really happy with my race today because I was racing with joy and having fun again! I had a really good Christmas break and taking a step back from World Cup racing and getting relaxed and happy, remembering to ignore all the external pressure, was key for me,” said Diggins. “So getting to race in this beautiful place surrounded by sunny Dolomite mountains at the exciting Tour de Ski was an experience I was able to enjoy, and because I was happy and relaxed I raced well today.”

Sadie Bjornsen topped the qualifications with Diggins sixth and Sophie Caldwell 13th. The two Canadians racing Dahria Beatty and Emily Nishikawa did not advance.

Diggins and Bjornsen went 1-2 in their quarter-final while Caldwell won hers. The three found themselves in the same semil-final with Diggins second to Nilsson as both made the final. Bjornsen just behind in third advanced as a Lucky Loser while Caldwell was out in 5th.

Bjornsen charged to the front in the final as Diggins sat fourth but Nilsson took over and dropped everyone. In the final sprint to the line Ingemarsdotter nipped Diggins at the line for second while Bjornsen was 6th in the end.

“It was an exciting and hot start to the Tour de Ski! It was a challenging Christmas for me, with three days of fever and a nasty chest cold that left me feeling depleted of energy for most of the break. So, to finally feel my legs back yesterday, just in time, was a miracle,” said Bjornsen.

“It was fun to qualify as number one, and know that I had the speed and power to take on the world today. The quarterfinals went really smooth, and I felt confidence in the way I could ski the hills. We had an exceptionally stacked semi final, which left me in a Lucky Loser position moving into the finals. I tried to use my confidence in my endurance to power my mind into the finals. Right away as we took off the line, I could tell my legs had taken a hit, but I kept fighting as hard as I could trying to chase down Stina. As I crested the final descent in second place, I knew I was going to have to dig for every last ounce of energy into the finishing stretch. As we rounded the corner, I felt all the girls coming up beside me for essentially a five-person photo finish,” she continued.

“I was bummed to have missed out on the podium, especially considering I had skied most of the race in second position, but at the same time I walked away with a lot of belief. Each final I make it to is more experience, and with so much skate sprinting this year, (including the World Championships) I am mainly excited to know I can fight in this event! We have another opportunity in three days, so I am excited to see what can happen.

“And most importantly, I am excited to feel healthy again! You can never take for granted a healthy day while racing the World Cup Tour. With all the travel, and stress on our bodies… we are always in a place to be affected by illness. So it sure feels good to feel good again! I am excited to keep this skate party going tomorrow with a 10k skate,” concluded Bjornsen,

Results here.