December 09, 2018 (Beitostolen, NOR) – Team USA’s Sadie Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan, Caitlin Patterson and Jessie Diggins debuted in the women’s 4 x 5km relay finishing a solid 5th as Norway 1 proved to be unstoppable again. Russia ll claimed second in a fierce battle with Finland 1 settling for third. It was the 10th consecutive relay victory for the Norwegians.

Bjornsen led off with a strong Classic in second handing off to Brennan as Therese Johaug took over the lead for Norway handing of to Ragnhild Haga with a 10s lead. The USA dropped back into 6th as Patterson took over.

Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg was unchallenged on the final leg as Patterson tagged Diggins in 6th. The battle for silver and bronze was uber close as Russia 1 edged Finland 1 as Diggins raced to the second fastest time for 5th.

We caught up with Team USA for their take on the day.

Sadie Bjornsen

Wow, the anticipation of a relay has to be one of my favorite things about this sport. I love putting all your collective skill and nerves together… and seeing what kind of surprise you can make with it. It was fun to start the new year with a new team, and feel out what was possible. It was a unique course out there today with a whole lot of drafting, and not too many climbs to break things up- which made it particularly challenging for our group.

My strategy in leg 1 was to stay near the front, and use the few working sections to try to make a gap. I could feel right away on the first lap that the draft was pretty huge, so I tried to stay near the front and get ready to pounce when I found a good place. Skiing in the mass became pretty frustrating with too much stop and go traffic, so I decided to go off the front and break up the race as soon as we lapped through for 2.5k. I knew there was a bit of a risk in this because Russia was going to be able to sit in behind, but it was worth it to break up the race some. I tagged off to Rosie and was happy to see we had gotten a gap on some of the teams we would be fighting with later in the race. From there, our team laid out their very best efforts, and we finished not too far away from our goal of shooting for the podium.

I am really excited to get some practice in relay racing before the Championships this year, because pacing and racing a 5k is very different than the other races we are doing. The more chances we have to race it, the more prepared we will be come February for the World Championships.

I am really proud of the way our team skied today, and I am really excited for what will come with this new team!

Rosie Brennan

Relay days are so fun because there are so many different variables that it’s very hard to make a plan. It is so much about knowing yourself and reacting on the fly. I had the pleasure of racing a very stacked leg 2. My goal was to hang on as long as possible while losing the least amount of time, meaning not explode. I think I did an OK job at this.

I was really struggling with my skis and had some tired legs so it wasn’t my best or what I know I am capable of, but it was a strong start and somewhere I can work from. This was a very challenging course with not much rest and a huge drafting effect.

Being caught alone was a very tough situation. I spent more time alone than I would have liked, but I am so happy to have had the opportunity to race a relay in period 1 because it gives me a direction to go and let all of us work some of the kinks out before things really matter.

Caitlin Patterson

We’ve all be really enjoying natural snow and mid-winter conditions in Beitostolen. Today was quite nice skiing, the trails were firm but not at all icy. The relay course for women especially was fairly flat, which meant there was little recovery and it was working the whole way.

I don’t think you can ever expect a certain outcome out of a relay, because there are so many variables. Sadie had an awesome scramble leg to put us in the hunt from the beginning. A few teams showed minor weaknesses, but there weren’t too many big implosions like can sometimes happen in 5k events. Norway was very strong, as expected, and I think the Russian women really surprised everyone this week.

During the beginning of my leg, I was focused on closing the gap to the skiers ahead. I closed a gap to Norway’s second team maybe around 2k, but the effort cost me serious energy, and I didn’t have the strongest middle section of the race. Still, Norway’s Slind and I skied and worked together for the rest of the race. I fought for every second, and am proud of my effort and especially of the whole team’s effort, though I wish my legs could have felt a little better for the later part of the race!

I’m happy with the effort I put in, and proud of the whole team. While we didn’t nail the perfect day throughout every leg, I think this start shows a lot of potential for future relays. You never know what can happen in a relay, and Team USA is poised to take advantage of the opportunities we can get!

Jessie Diggins

I was really happy with today and so, so proud of my team (today and every day!). We went out there and skied our hardest, and for me it was a really interesting mix of hammering and playing it smart with tactical decisions.

I went out sprinting trying to close some of the gap to the group that was way ahead of us, but it’s a pretty flat course and really hard to drop people who are drafting you. So about 1/3 of the way into the anchor leg,  I switched my strategy and let the other two girls in my pack lead, conserving energy and planning to make my move with about 1 km to the finish.

I felt good about my effort and how my form is coming around. Huge props to the service team as relay days are tough with a lot going on!

Results here.