December 04, 2010 (Dusseldorf, Germany) – American Kikkan Randall made good in the women’s .9km freestyle sprint in Dusseldorf on Saturday claiming second behind winner Arianna Follis from Italy in the final. Canada’s Chandra Crawford signaled she’s ready for action with a strong 4th place in the qualifications to finish 8th overall in the semifinal rounds while fellow Canuck Dasha Gaiazova also advanced with a 21st placing in the qualifications to finish 27th overall.

This is the USA’s first WCup medal this season and in our preview Randall told us she had some unfinished business in Dusseldorf. “Skate sprints are my favorite events and I had some back luck there last year, getting knocked down just out of the start. I have some unfinished business there.”

For Crawford it was another great performance in Dusseldorf where she finished 12th last year to qualify for Vancouver 2010 – her top result is enough to qualify her for the 2011 Nordic Worlds in Oslo.

For the US team there were some hoops to jump through with delayed flights and baggage but they persevered borrowing some equipment. “I was feeling a bit tired after Kuusamo,” said Randall, “and our travel and baggage hiccups didn’t help. Still I felt ok although wasn’t sure how things would go in Dusseldorf.”

After qualifying 8th Randall raced through the quarter finals and the semis. “I was feeling good and strong after only a decent qualification round,” said Randall. “In the final I got off to a bad start and scrambled to regain position. I didn’t panic and knew my energy was good. By the final corner I was third and was able to pass Vesna Fabjan (SLO) [top qualifier] but couldn’t quite reel in Follis… if there was a bit more track I think I could have.” The Dusseldorf course is one of the shortest on the WCup circuit.

So is she ready for Norwegian star Marit Bjoergen. “Absolutely – I look forward to it!  We had a fun battle in Oslo last year and with a few more hills in the race, I would like to see how I can stack  up against one of the best female skiers of all time!”

For Itay’s Follis it was her first victory on the German stop after numerous tries. “I’m really happy today – for the first time I won in Düsseldorf. The course is very specific and the atmosphere is very nice with many spectators.”

It was Crawford’s best result on the World Cup in nearly two years and the 27-year-old was stoked to be regaining her form. “That result absolutely feels great. It has been a long time since I’ve been in the top-10,” said Crawford. “For me it has been years of battling through injuries and going through coaches, and now that everything is getting back to normal it feels great to be able to start to perform again.”

“It was really nice to hear someone say on the street today in their European accent ‘Chandra is back,’ and I’m starting to feel that way myself,” she added.

Follis is now leading the World Cup sprint ranking with 130 points while Randall moves into second with 80 points and Fabjan is in third with 60. Bjoergen continues to lead the overall World Cup series ahead of Charlotte Kalla (SWE) in second and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) in third.

And who said there’s no money in xc skiing? Follis takes home 15,000 Swiss Francs (1SF=1.0259 US) for her win while Randall pockets 10,000 and Fabjan 5,000 – that’s over $1,000 US for every 100m for Follis and Randall in the Dusseldorf final. To date Bjoergen has won 61,750SF of which 33,750 was earned in Kuusamo.

As the lone US woman in Dusseldorf Randall is disappointed not to be racing in the team sprint on Sunday but is looking forward to Davos next weekend and the opportunity to face off against Bjoergen on a longer course. She leaves Davos on Sunday but not before buying a few rounds for the team.

It was a solid day for the North Americans and Crawford and Gaiazova will suit up for Sunday’s relay with the latter leading off.

“Yeah, good day for Chandra. She’s been working hard this year, and it was nice to see her get in the top ten. Also nice to see her qualify in 4th, so the speed is there. Dasha did well to qualify in a short fast skate sprint, although in her first round she was in a very fast heat so she did not move on,” said Canada’s Head Coach Justin Wadsworth. “In Sunday’s relay Dasha will lead off and then Chandra will bring it home.”

Qualifications HERE.
Final Results HERE.
Video of final sprint HERE.

Results (brief)

1. Arianna Follis (ITA)
2. Kikkan Randall (USA)
3. Vesna Fabjan (SLO)
4. Celine Brun-Lie (NOR)
5. Hanna Falk (SWE)
6. Hanna Brodin (SWE)

8. Chandra Crawford (CAN)
27. Daria Gaiazova (CAN)