December 03, 2011 (Dusseldorf, GER) – It was a stellar day for American Kikkan Randall who powered her way to the top of the sprint podium again winning her fourth World Cup as athletes battled through rainy and windy conditions on the flat and narrow course along the banks of the Rhine River.

Skiiing smart and strong Randall qualified 10th and then advanced through each round to the final where she was joined by her good friend Canadian Chandra Crawford, who made the cut as one of the lucky losers. Both were on the podium in Dusseldorf last year as Randall was second in the individual sprint while Crawford was eighth in the individual and 3rd in the team sprint with teammate Dasha Gaiazova.

During the final Randall and Crawford collided momentarily in the tight mix as the race unfolded but luckily it went without incident as the US star turned up the speed near the finish to claim the win while Crawford, who looked solid in third, had to settle for fourth as Switzerland’s Laurien Van der Graaff edged her at the line. Russia’s Natalia Matveeva, who lead for most of the final race, could not match Randall’s finishing kick and ended up with the silver.

For Randall it was another plank in the deck of her solid start to the 2011/12 season while for 28-year-old Crawford, the 2006 Olympic sprint champion, it was her best individual result in three years.

A number of other North American women came close to cracking the top 30 today. Perianne Jones qualified 32nd, a mere 0.2 of second out of the top 30. Teammate Alysson Marshall came in 38th, also less than a second from posting a qualifying time. Dasha Gaiazova was 46th. Crawford and Perianne Jones will represent Canada on Sunday in the team sprint.

Among the US women, Sadie Bjornsen also came close to qualifying with a 34th-place finish. Farther back were Holly Brooks and Ida Sargent in 51st and 52nd respectively. Bjornsen and Randall will race the Team Sprint on Sunday.

The North American men could not match their female counterparts as the USA’s Andy Newell qualified 14th but got pipped at the line in his quarterfinal heat by Tomas Northug (NOR). Newell skied smart and was near the front when it counted at the end by failed to close the door as the younger Northug bested the wily veteran at the line.

Canada’s Devon Kershaw who qualified 15th struggled to find good position in his heat and tried to reel in the leaders on the finishing straight but it was too little too late for the speedy Canuck who won his first WCup sprint at the Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy last year.

The men’s final went to Norwegian veteran, Ola Vigen Hattestad, who stayed near the front letting Russia’s Alexey Petukhov do all the work pouncing on him on the finishing straight as Petukhov, who set a blistering early pace, ran out of gas. Top qualifier Pal Goldberg also from Norway landed on the podium in third.

Canada’s Drew Goldsack and Len Valjas were a little off the pace, finishing in 41st and 42nd, respectively. The only other American male to race was Skylar Davis, who finished 71st. Simi Hamilton, who has been battling illness, did not start this morning. Goldsack and Valjas will team up on Sunday for Canada while Newell and Davis are the US pair.

Kikkan Randall (USA) – 1st 

On how she felt going into today:
“I knew my fitness was in a good place. This week we were recovering from the mini-tour, we were going to altitude, so those always throw in a couple of unknown factors, but I felt pretty good going into today. So I knew that was going to put me in a good position, but sprint racing, man, on a course this short, anything can happen, so I took it one round at a time, and was happy to stay on my feet and be in a good position at the end.”

On the second half of the final:
“I really felt my legs come on the second half of the race and was happy to be in second going around that final turn and then on that finishing stretch anything can happen so I just put my head down and went for it.’

On her history at Dusseldorf:
“I’ve had two really good races and two not so good races here, so I guess I’m 50/50 at this point, but you know, when my finish is good, it’s a course that you have some time to move up on and it’s really high speed and if you can ski really powerfully, which is usually one of my strengths, you can be in a good position towards the end.”

On being in the final with Chandra:
“It was super good, I mean, eventhough we bumped into each other a little out there, it’s nice because we’ve spent some time training together, so we kind of know how each other skis, and we want to put our best foot forward for North America so it was good to have two shots in there.”

On making contact with Chandra during the scrappy final:
“We both got off to a similar start and were both going for the same position so that definitely made us bump into each other a little bit, which can always go either way, so I just wanted to fight for a good line and I didn’t want to be too aggressive so I kind of just settled back in and waited for another opportunity to try to move up. ”

On racing in the team sprint tomorrow:
“I am looking forward to it. Every other year I’ve been here I’ve never had a partner, so I’m excited to get in there and get my first try at it, and with everyone skiing really well right now I think we can really get in there and mix it up.”

Chandra Crawford (CAN) – 4th
“I’ve trained better than ever this summer and I’m happy to be one-third of the way to my goal of making all three sprint finals this month. I’ve never been fourth before and sure thought I had the podium but got a bit stiff in the final metres and the Swiss girl zipped by me. Hey – my first final in three years – I’ll take it!”

“It’s one of the many exciting city sprints and just so fun and unique to be racing in a beautiful city right on the Rhine,” said Crawford, who added this time next year Canada will host a downtown sprint of its own in Quebec City. “I love the atmosphere and the short, fast course. Next up is Davos and then Rogla so it’s fun to be doing so much skate sprinting before Christmas.”

Andy Newell (USA) – 16th
“I felt decent today and was comfortable in the qualification feeling like I was going fast enough but also controlled and recovered well afterward. In the heats my pole got stepped on and broke going over the hill on the first lap but I was able to get a spare quickly and pass most people a get back near the front by the start of the second lap. Going into the lanes I was in a good position but got lunged out. Bummer, but the good new is that I felt pretty good today… definitely should have moved on. Plan for the team sprint will be Skyler and I racing tomorrow.”

Alysson Marshall  (CAN) – 38th
“I felt pretty good about my qualifier. I was disappointed that I didn’t advance but it is encouraging to be so close to the top-30.  The Dusseldorf sprint has been a great experience so far. The atmosphere here is amazing and it was really fun to race downtown in front of lots of spectators. I am doing the team sprint tomorrow with Dasha and I think it will be a really fun and exciting race!”

Drew Goldsack (CAN) – 41st
How confident were you feeling going into the qualifier and how do you feel out there?
“My confidence was good going into today’s race despite a poor sprint in Kuusamo. I know I’m capable of being right in there with the best in the world and the course suited me well so I had high expectations for today. I didn’t feel great out there though, the first lap was good but I tightened up a lot on the second lap. I’ve been struggling with a lot of fatigue lately and just ran out of jam way too quickly.”

Do you take some encouragement away from your 41st place finish?
“I suppose a bit, today was much better than last weekend in Kuusamo so that’s a good sign that things are moving in the right direction. At the same time though I expect much more from myself and know that I should be getting/am capable of much better results.”

Will you be racing in the team sprint tomorrow? If so, any idea who your partner will be?
“Yep, Lenny and I will be suiting up for the team sprint tomorrow. Looking forward to it as Len is in really good shape these days and the sprint relay is usually a strong event for me!”

Women’s final results HERE.
Men’s final results HERE.