December 08, 2013 (Lillehammer, Norway) – The US Women’s team claimed a bitter-sweet bronze following a valiant bid for silver by Jessie Diggins on the final leg of the 4x5km relay in tough snowy conditions. A mishap in the final 2km allowed Finland’s Krista Lahteenmaki to take second behind Norway’s Marit Bjoergen who easily captured the gold on home turf with a 1:13 margin. The USA’s second team – a first for the Americans to run with two squads – also had a solid day driving for a top-10 finish but ended up 12th as snow fell throughout the race which made for challenging skiing. (full audio interview at bottom).

(l-r) Kikkan Randall (USA), Sadie Bjornsen (USA), Jessica Diggins (USA), Elizabeth Stephen (USA). © Nordic Focus

Fresh falling snow and minus 10 degrees temperatures greeted the skiers on the start line as the Kikkan Randall began the first classic leg for the Americans and lead for most of it handing off to Sadie Bjornsen in third as Heidi Weng took over as the lap ended with Norway II’s Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg catching them both at the transition. Randall was on fire today and kept pace with Weng as the USA 2’s Sophie Caldwell also had a strong run racing with the leaders as she tagged Ida Sargent in 6th.

“We learned some lessons last season with our 3rd place in Gallivare, Sweden. It was an historic day but at the next relay in La Clusaz, France we were struggling. We know that on a good day we can be in the fight for the podium, but we can’t take anything for granted,” Randall told Trax post-race.

“I was a bit anxious starting the classic today in tricky conditions but I was psyched and had the team energy behind me. I had a good start and took the lead and when Weng attacked I still had good energy to stay with her. I was confident that if I tagged off to Sadie and did my job that things would go well.

“Conditions were difficult but it made for a fun day in epic conditions. I had such tremendous confidence in our girls and it was so good to see our second team in the hunt as well. Every leg of the relay the girls skiied really gutsy and with better luck today we would have been fighting for the silver… just knowing that is awesome,” she continued.

Caldwell’s first relay with the team was a coup that put them in the running as well in 6th place. “My skis were great! I kicked up everything and they were fast. I also like the powdery conditions for classic skiing, so I was happy! I was very satisfied with my race. It was exciting to be towards the front and to be able to ski with the leaders. It was a short race and I felt great. I just tried to work myself into a good position and then follow people stride-for-stride and hang on for as long as possible,” she commented.

Norway team for gold (l-r) Heidi Weng (NOR), Kristin Steira (NOR), Marit Bjoergen (NOR), Therese Johaug (NOR) © Nordic Focus

On the second classic leg Norway’s Therese Johaug motored away building a commanding lead of almost 40s while Bjornsen battled Finland’s Anne Kylloenen as she held her own for most of the leg. The race was on for the silver with Kylloenen edging past Bjornsen to take a small lead on the second lap but the Alaska skier closed it down by the time they tagged off only one second apart.

“I haven’t skied a second leg in years. I am usually the one going out first. It was exciting because Kikkan put me right in there. I knew Johaug would go hard so I tried to just work with that Finnish girl [Kylloenen]. With such variable conditions you have to collect your mind to stay in the race…but the conditions were the same for everyone. It was great to be in the hunt for a medal…we were right where we belong and it was fun to find a way to make it work and beat the weather,” shared Bjornsen.

Behind Ida Sargent skied a very strong leg as well losing a bit of ground tagging off to Holly Brooks in 7th. “It was a fun day out there. Awesome to have two teams with eight girls racing hard and for the first team to get the bronze! I think I had a solid leg and I felt better than yesterday,” Sargent told Trax.

“It was snowing super hard and one track was skied in while the other one was full of snow so it was really hard to pass. I got caught in the back when some moves were made early on and then I wasted a lot of energy later on trying to ski through the powder so there were a few frustrating parts of the race but it was really fun to be in the mix with those girls. My skis were good.  It was super soft and powdery out there with all the new falling snow and the hills are really steep so you had to ski light and stay on your toes but our techs did a great job getting skis that would work out there,” she added.

Finland scores silver (l-r) Anne Kylloenen (FIN), Krista Laehteenmaeki (FIN), Kerttu Niskanen (FIN), Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (FIN). © Nordic Focus

Kristin Stoermer Steira continued Norway’s onslaught as Liz Stephen found herself up against Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen. Lurking behind was Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla who is having a very strong start to the season and was making up ground fast. Stephen attacked but couldn’t drop Niskanen who settled in behind the E. Montpellier, Vermont skier and then decided it was her turn to attack.

As the lap ended Stephen seemed to be running out of gas and almost took a fall in the stadium but she regained her footing and handed off to Diggins as more drama soon unfolded. Meanwhile the USA II’s Brooks was struggling to keep pace in the tough conditions and tagged Rosie Brennan in 10th. The APU skier did her best and ended up 12th on the day out of 18 teams which augurs well for the US squad down the road.

As Marit Bjoergen raced ahead to victory Diggins chased down Krista Lahteenmaki (FIN) as the two engaged in a see-saw battle for the silver. With fans on the edge of their seats Diggins attacked and had the edge on Lahteenmaki as they hit the final downhill and the silver medal looked like it was within her grasp. But destiny had other plans as Diggins ski caught some powder and she went down – Lahteenmaki pounced.

Women's Relay final podium (l-r) Finland 2nd, Norway 1st, USA 3rd. © Nordic Focus

We found out later that Diggins lost her pole and was graciously handed one by the Norwegians as she recovered with enough time to claim the bronze, matching the US squad’s best relay performance to date as she collapsed at the finish.

“When I got the tag, there was only 10 seconds between me and the Finnish girl ahead. She was so reachable but I wanted to make sure that I didn’t go out too hard and blow up… but I also knew Sweden and Norway were behind me. I was able to close down the gap on Finland and felt good,” explained Diggins in a post-race interview with Trax.

“On the long climb, I made a move over the top to drop the Finnish girl and I got in the tracks and settled into my tuck and thought I was doing really good. And then suddenly my tip caught some powder and I crashed really hard. Finland went by and I had to ski the rest of the downhill with one pole. It seemed that one-pole skiing is becoming my thing.

“I was able to get a new pole from Norway which was really sweet. Luckily the gap was big enough and I was able to stay in third which we are psyched about this early in the season. Bad luck happens and that sucks but it is good to know the shape is there. We were fighting the entire time, we never gave up. It was a little bad luck… but that’s racing,” she concluded.

Full Interview with Randall, Bjornsen, Stephen, Diggins

Full results here.
Detailed results here.