January 24, 2015 (Rybinsk, Russia) – The USA’s Jessie Diggins from Afton, MN, followed up yesterday’s strong distance result with a stellar season-high 5th in the women’s 1.2km FR Sprint on Saturday in tough snowy conditions. Sweden’s Jennie Oeberg took home her first World Cup victory with Russia’s Natalia Matveeva in second and Switzerland’s Laurien van der Graaf in third.

Jessica Diggins (USA) © Nordic Focus

After a strong qualification that saw seven Americans move through to the rounds Diggins nailed her quarterfinal and then delivered a strong semi finishing second behind Anastasia Dotsenko (Russia). Teammate Sophie Caldwell was in the same semi as Diggins and finished third in the heat ending up 7th on the day.

“I felt really strong in the first two heats and definitely got tired in the final but the whole day was an adrenaline rush. I’m really proud of our coaches and techs for making such speedy skis and working so hard with such great energy,” Diggins said of her day.

Jennie Oeberg (SWE) © Nordic Focus

I had such a crazy fun time out there today, especially getting to race with so many US girls in the heats. It was such a good confidence boost and is a great way to get ready for Worlds! Liz’s race yesterday was just so inspiring and she’s paving the way for us like Kikkan, and I feel so lucky to have such amazing role models and teammates,” she added.

Caldwell continues to show improvement and was happy with the day of racing.

“Today was an awesome day for the team! Four girls in the top 13 is an amazing day for us. There were a bunch of highlights from the day. Ida and Simi had really impressive qualifiers, Sadie got her second best sprint result ever, and Jessie flew into the final.

“The course and conditions were extremely tough out there. There was a lot of cold powder, which is not something we’re used to on the World Cup. There was also a huge hill on the course that is quite a bit longer than most hills we encounter on sprint courses.

Sophie Caldwell (USA) © Nordic Focus

“I was feeling a little fatigued going into the day, but I think I actually felt the best in my semi-final, so I was happy with the direction things were moving. Like I said before, it’s a really tough course that gives your legs a pretty good beating. I’m planning on racing tomorrow and am looking forward to jumping in another distance race. I don’t have many expectations, but it should be fun,” she concluded.

Sadie Bjornsen from Winthrop, WA delivered a solid sprint result as well.

“It was a lot of fun out there today. It was snowing like crazy, so it was different than the normal familiar snow and conditions we are usually skiing on. The course was very soft, so you had to find the magic push of not too hard, but just enough. I have never found this condition to be my strength, so I was actually very happy to find my way into the semi’s finally!

Sadie Bjoernsen (USA) and Ida Sargent (USA) © Nordic Focus

“Qualifier was ok, although I think I paced it very wrong. I managed to flood my legs very badly on the last uphill, and struggled to find the finish line by the end. It was especially challenging with the deep powder, and left you almost feeling like my 12 year old self! But things managed to feel better by the heats. I had a fast heat, and found myself a bit too blocked at the finish stretch, but I just tried to hug the back of the fastest skier in front of me and get my foot forward…. It would have been nice to have an open lane to sneak by, but it worked out fine, as I made it through as lucky looser.

“It has been three years since I made it into the semi’s, so that was very fun for me! I didn’t feel like I got to ski my best once I got to the semi’s, but, another step. I am happy!

Sadie Bjoernsen (USA) © Nordic Focus

“It was a great day for the team today. I think that we are all building into a good place just before our training block before the championships, so that it awesome. To see some amazing results yesterday, and then some more results again today; it makes me excited to see what will happen tomorrow! I especially enjoyed watching Jessie today. I haven’t seen that “Jessie” yet this year, so I think she is going to be turning heads quickly here! I can see it in her quick movements, so I am just really proud to see her into the finals today!

“I am feeling good and ready for tomorrow. I am excited to start a pursuit, and try something we haven’t gotten to do yet this year! Hopefully conditions will get a bit more firm; but if not, another day of finding a way to float here in Russia! Thanks to the techs and coaches for giving us yet again, so awesome skis!

Final podium © Nordic Focus

“My favorite Russian food is their oatmeal in the morning. It is sweet, I think they make it with condensed milk or something special!… It has been nice to have [Ivan] Babs around to explain what everything is at the meals. He is our safety check,” she added.

The final word goes to Rosie Brennan who just missed advancing to the heats but is still coming on strong.

“Yeah, I was really close! It snowed quite a bit last night, making the course really soft and I just struggled to find any quickness in my muscles. I only missed by a tenth so I can think of a million places I could have made that up, but that is the key to sprint racing, being able to make speed on the whole course. This is my still my best sprint finish and skate sprinting is by far my weakest discipline so while it wasn’t my best day, it was also far from my worst,” she shared.

Full results here.