December 09, 2016 (Davos, SUI) – Legendary Kikkan Randall was not on the start line at the FIS XC World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway but is set to go for round three this weekend in Davos, Switzerland for the women’s 15km FR on Saturday and the Sprint FR on Sunday. We intially thought she might have gotten sick and caught up with her for a quick exchange.

“No, I am feeling fine,” wrote Randall from Davos by email. “In Lillehammer we only had six quota spots and seven girls. And since my opening weekend in Ruka, Finland wasn’t super strong, I was chosen as the alternate for the mini-tour.  I was bummed not to be able to race but got in some good training and am fired up to do both races this weekend.”

The courses looked great last weekend in Lillehammer and look similar for Davos which Randall confirmed, “They’ve done an amazing job with the snow farming here in Davos.  They have a 6km loop that is quite solid and deep.”

The women will complete the 5km course three times while the men will do six rotations. Davos awaits a new winner in the women’s race and according to the FIS pre-competition facts the 15km freestyle has been held in Davos on three previous occasions. Norway’s Therese Johaug won the race last year and her teammate, Marit Bjørgen, won in 2011 and 2013.

Bjørgen and Johaug combined have won the last seven World Cup distance races held in Davos. But neither Bjørgen nor Johaug will race this weekend, leaving the floor open for a new winner in Davos.

American Jessica Diggins won the 5km freestyle race last weekend in Lillehammer, the only distance freestyle race so far this season. It was the second distance World Cup win for Diggins, both in 5km races. No woman representing the United States has won a World Cup race with a distance longer than 5km.

USA has never had a female athlete on the World Cup podium in a race over 15km or longer. The best performance was by Diggins herself, who was 5th in Rybinsk skiathlon in 2015. – read more here.