December 21, 2014 (Davos, Switzerland) – The USA’s Kikkan Randall looked like her old self leading four teammates into the heats but crashed out in her semi final in the women’s 1.3km FR Sprint today in Davos as Marit Bjoergen of Norway took her 84th career World Cup victory. Sweden’s new speed queen Stina Nillson claimed 2nd with Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg of Norway third.

Final podium (l-r) Nilsson 2nd, Bjorgen 1st, Oestberg 3rd © Nordic Focus

Sophie Caldwell also impressed with some fine skiing advancing to the semis as a Lucky Loser but ended up 6th as Randall was 5th following her crash. Jessie Diggins looked strong as well but ended up 5th in her heat as did Ida Sargent. Randall described her semi final race and how she crashed…

“In the semis I came out of the lanes in a good position but got stuck behind in the first stretch.  I came over the top of the hill near the back but was looking to move up on the tricky corner.  I had a nice wide line in the first half of the turn and just as I started cutting to the inside, I looked up for a split second to find which side to go for and then hit a patch of ice and my feet slipped out from under me.  I got up quickly but had lost all my momentum.  So I skied the rest of the lap as hard as I could and was able to catch up to Sophie.  We had a good battle to the finish,” commented Randall.

Kikkan Randall (USA) © Nordic Focus

Caldwell is starting to feel like her old self and skied the first half of her quarter final in second place behind Oestberg but faded on the second lap as Charlotte Kalla (SWE) caught her – yet the Vermont skier was in one of the fastest heats nabbing one of the Luck Loser spots.

“My elbow has been feeling really good. Today was a great day for me and a big step in the right direction. My goal for the quarter was to stick with Ingvild for as long as possible. I ended up getting tired on the second lap, but I knew her heats tend to be really fast, so I still advanced as lucky loser!

“In my semi I tripped on the first uphill and that was the end of the heat for me. It was unfortunate, but I was happy to have made the semis,” she told Trax.

Sophie Caldwell (USA) © Nordic Focus

For Randall it was a chance to redeem herself from last weekend’s sprint at Davos. “It’s not too often that we get the chance to repeat the exact same course in two weekends, so I was pretty excited to have another shot at this Davos course. This time around the feelings and performance once again took another step forward, a big step. I was really satisfied with how I felt in the qualification, much more sharp and powerful than I’ve been yet this season.

“In the quarterfinal I had a good start and skied near the front for the whole round.  I had to make one tricky move on the 2nd lap to get to the outside before the climb. My energy was strong to the finish and I was really happy to advance to the semis.  I was able to push much harder than the previous week,” commented the Alaska skier.

The semi final was unfortunate but Randall says she’s back on track and looks forward to the upcoming holiday break before tackling another Tour de Ski.

“It was a real bummer to fall [in the semi] because I think my gears were there to stay in the mix and both lucky losers to the final came from our heat.  But I’m at least happy that the feelings today were much stronger and more like my normal sprint self. I’m on the upward trend!

“You never know how bad you’ve been feeling until you start to feel good I guess! With Christmas break coming up, today is a good indicator of getting back on track. Looking forward to getting in some training now before the Tour.

“Everyone else on the World Cup is headed home for Christmas but I will be rocking the holidays here in Davos with most of the U.S. Team and a few Canadians that will do the Tour de Ski.  My husband is here and it will be nice to enjoy a couple weeks away from racing before we gear up again in the new year.

A big thanks goes out to my team today, we had great skis and awesome support.  A huge thanks also goes out to the Davos organizing committee for putting on a 2nd week of racing to save us from races having to be cancelled.

Merry Christmas to all,” she concluded.

Qualifications here
Final results here.