January 18, 2014 (Szklarska Poreba, Poland) – American star Kikkan Randall lead a strong US charge, making it two-for-two, as she followed up her win in Nova Mesto, CZE, last weekend with a victory in the women’s 1.5km Sprint FR in Szklarska Poreba, Poland today. Tough conditions hampered yet another World Cup but organizers pulled it off again.

Randall was unstoppable again winning every heat as she overpowered all rivals. In the final she sat in second and third until picking her spot to go and then powered ahead for the win over Denise Herrmann of Germany in second with Slovenia’s Vesna Fabjan claiming third.

“It’s great to be able to handle different conditions and tactics and see it all coming together. The course was in pretty good shape given the challenges organizers had. It was getting hard-packed in some spots but there was ample room to pass and overall it was a good day,” Randall told Trax – link to full interview below.

“It was a tactical race and important to be near the front. We know it’s not a full World Cup field here but all the girls skied really well, and my heart goes out to Andy [Newell] who skied the best I’ve seen all season and had a tough break like Jessie [Diggins] in the final.”

Randall Interview

It was a strong day for both the USA and Canada as Jessie Diggins qualified 8th, aced her quarter final and then skied uber-smart and strong in her semi placing third as she advanced to final as a Lucky Loser. Diggins skied smart again in the final following Randall and looked good for the podium, but she got tripped up in one of the final corners by Laurien Van Der Graaff (SUI) and her day was over. Still her 5th place overall was a personal best… we caught up with Diggins post race for her take on the day.

“I was so happy to make the final! I was nervous going into the race because I got sick last week and yesterday I did intensity for the first time since the Tour. But I was feeling great all day, my skis were silly fast and the course really played to my strengths… gradual workable downhills are my jam,” explained Diggins.

“Just before the final turn Lauren skied left while I skied right, and she fell right in front of me. I pitched forward over her and got up as fast as I could but lost the pack. While that’s of course a little heartbreaking since I was in third and feeling great, that’s sprint racing and I’m happy knowing I can do better! I am so proud of the team for skiing so well and the techs for nailing it, and I was so excited to get a sprinting PR,” she concluded.

For Canada it was also a good day as both Perianne Jones and teammate Dasha Gaiazova qualified in 3oth and 26th respectively. While Jones went on to finish 10th for a personal best Sprint FR result like Diggins, it was a tougher day for Gaiazova who broke a pole in her quarterfinal ending up 5th in the heat and 23rd on the day.

Meanwhile Jones skied her way into the semi finals by placing a strong 2nd to Randall in her quarter final heat. In her semi she couldn’t match the pace at the end finishing 5th to make the top 10, affirming that her sickness is behind her and her form is on track. We caught up with Jones post-race for her take on the conditions and her day at the races.

Jones Interview

The USA’s Sophie Caldwell was the top North American qualifier in 4th also winning her quarterfinal as she advanced to the semis in style lining up with Randall and Jones. Her third place finish was strong but the heat with Diggins was faster so Caldwell did not advance as a Lucky Loser and ended up a solid 7th overall.

“Today was an amazing day for the team as a whole. We had five women in the top 15 and Andy also made the final. The course was pretty dirty and very narrow, but the organizers did a great job of putting something together, especially considering how much they had to work with. We had fast skis all day thanks to our hard-working wax techs and coaches.

“My quarterfinal was kind of all over the place. I didn’t have a great start, but slowly moved my way up and was able to have a strong finish and win my quarter final heat. My goal in my semi was to get behind Kikkan and follow her and that worked well until I had a little bobble on one of the final corners and wasn’t able to finish as strong as I would have liked to. Overall, it was a great day and I’m really psyched about how it went and how all my teammates skied,” Caldwell told Trax.

Ida Sargent also had a decent day qualifying 15th and ending up 13th while top US distance skier Liz Stephen earned her sprint spurs for a personal best qualification in 22nd and final placement in 15th.

We also caught up with US Women’s Head Coach Matt Whitcomb for his impressions and thoughts on the day…

Whitcomb Interview

Qualifications here.
Final results here.