March 24, 2018 (Craftsbury Common, VT) – Jessie Diggins (SMST2) took home her second straight victory at at the 2018 USSA SuperTour Finals, winning the women’s 10km FR mass start race with Sadie Bjornsen (APU) a close second followed by Kikkan Randall (APU) in third.

“It’s so much fun to be back racing in the US and getting to see all my buddies from teams all over the country,” said Diggins. “Craftsbury does an amazing job here and a huge thanks to the volunteers for making the races go so well. Today I was just out to have fun and ski hard while enjoying the fun courses.

For Bjornsen it was a fun day as well where she did her best to hang on to Diggins. “It was a fun day of racing here in Craftsburry. It was a hot pace from the start, as I sat in second place behind Jessie. She tumbled at the bottom of the hill, at which point I took over the lead, but she was quickly back on the front by the bottom of the next hill.

“It felt and sounded like Jessie and I had made a gap on most of the field at the top of the longer climb at the end of the first lap, but Kikkan and Rosie F. managed to pull back onto us on the flat at the top of the climbs. It felt like that kept happening most of the longer climbs throughout the course, but it was really hard to tell. My muscles still have a little bit of energy left in them, but mentally I am running on fumes… so today I just set my brain on hanging onto to Jessie as long as possible, and taking a few turns at the front during the rolling sections. Conditions are great here with plenty of snow, and really fun and challenging courses.

“It is really fun to be back with my club team for one final week of racing. I am in that place where I am so tired that everything makes me giggle until my core gives out. It sure is fun to celebrate those fun moments with my club team, and truly celebrate a successful season for everyone,” added Bjornsen.

Randall was stoked to finish 3rd. “Conditions are great, lots of snow and nice temps. Sun came out after the race making it nice for everyone to hang around. Pace was fast but reasonable out of the start. It was really fun to ski with those girls today. I have felt a far away from that level the last couple of weeks so it was nice to find some better gears today.

“The level of the racing here has certainly come up over the last several years.  It’s great that for at least one race series a year we can get all the USA skiers together to race. It really nice to see everyone that we haven’t seen all season. The spectators have really come out in force and it’s great to see the enthusiasm in the whole community.

We wondered if she realized just how much she’d accomplished during her career. “I’m sure when the season actually finishes and I have some time to look back over my career, some of the gravity will sink in. What I love is how normal this new level feels now, as if it’s always been this way.”

And what about that mixed relay title ? “A lot of pride on the line tomorrow. It was tough to loose the title to SMS last year so you can guarantee team APU is hungry to get the title back,” shared Randall.

Women’s results