March 06, 2016 (Quebec City, Que.) – While the day belonged to Norway the USA’s Jessie Diggins skied with heart moving up two spots to claim 5th in the women’s 10km Pursuit while her teammate Sadie Bjornsen finished a strong 10th.

Norway came out swinging to finish the day with the top four spots as Tour leader, Heidi Weng, bested teammate Therese Johaug at the line. Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen took third and Maiken Caspersen claimed 4th.

Diggins was happy to deliver following her disappointing crash the day before in the sprints. “Today I was full of energy and just ready to go for it. This was a great course for me, a lot of good winding downhills where you can just work the corners. I caught up to Ingvild, and said to her we should work together, I’ll pull,” said Diggins. “We worked really well together and it was really motivating to be hunting people down as a two person unit. On the last lap I put a move on that last hill where all my family was cheering, and it was an ideal race for me.”

Bjornsen recorded the 5th fastest time of the day, enough to move up one spot to 10th overall and sit within four seconds of 7th overall. “I had a lot of fun out there today and I had a goal of just staying with Charlotte [Kalla], I just kept my eyes on her and held on for dear life, so I was really satisfied,” said Bjornsen.

Emily Nishikawa led the Canadians in 45th moving up two spots. “I think I have a little more in me, but I think I’m getting better and better each day, so I’m looking forward to Canmore. I know those courses so well, and I race well at altitude,” said the Whitehorse skier.

Crowds lined the fences along the course on the Plains of Abraham to see the final stage of the Ski Tour Canada before it heads out west to Canmore, Alberta. The pursuit start made for exciting battles among skiers jockeying for positions for a well deserved two-day rest before the action picks up again on March 8.

The QCity course featured three laps of sweeping hills on the historic Plains of Abraham, with snow conditions speeding up substantially from the day prior. Johaug quickly bridged the gap to fellow Norwegian Weng on the first lap, only to finish a close second after repeatedly attempted to shake her w/o success.

“It was a great race for me today, I tried whatever I could to get a gap on Heidi but she was really strong today. I’m really happy with the race today and really satisfied that I have a big gap going ahead,” said Johaug.

Liz Stephen crossed the line in 29th place, having the 25th fastest time on the day. With more distance days to come Stephen shared, “It was a fun day, I fought the whole way and I am happy with it. Lot more racing to come, and only one more sprint.”

Rosie Brennan maintained her place in 32nd overall, while fellow Americans Chelsea Holmes (39th overall), Ida Sargent (40th Overall), and Sophie Caldwell (42nd overall) completed their races with solid performances.

At 0.01 seconds behind Nishikawa was Canada’s Dahria Beatty in 46th, with Cendrine Browne one spot further behind in 47th. Olivia Bouffard Nesbitt clocked the 54th fastest time of the day and at the finish told Trax, “It was really tough, the goal of everyone in my wave was to not get lapped. So we raced the first two laps pretty hard, but my legs were so burnt during the race, I wish I could have fought harder at the end but my legs just wouldn’t let me.”

Nesbitt added, “I’m super excited [to race at home] – when I doubte myself there were definitely times when I thought I wouldn’t ever race in Canmore. Everyday I get to start a race in the Tour is a privilege and I am excited to go to Canmore.”

Lots of excitement about heading west to Canmore was felt by all the North Americans where predictable conditions and familiar courses will make for good racing. This emotion was expressed by Canmore Nordic Ski Club member Annika Hicks as she commented, “I am just so, so excited to be able to race in Canmore. With Russell Kennedy (who races for Canmore Nordic) also racing, it will definitely be awesome.”

With three of the four remaining events being distance races, Johaug is sitting nicely in her search for the overall Tour lead currently held by Satur day’s winner Weng.

Racing resumes in Canmore March 8th with the classic sprint on a climb-heavy course. Although the Sprint Cup titles have already been decided, precious bonus seconds are up for grabs that may make the difference in the overall Tour leaderboard.

Results here.