By Angie Kell
Call it a survival tactic. Jessie Diggins, in her pre–World Cup Press Conference on November 25th, hinted about easing her way into the World Cup season, in all likelihood to alleviate some of the pressure that comes with being one of the top skiers in the world. The reality on Sunday morning, however, was that she eased her way into another World Cup win, the 24th of her career.
Over a 20-kilometer race with a different course configuration than prior years in Ruka, Finland, the conditions played a notable role.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever seen these conditions here,” Rosie Brennan stated to media outlets after the race. “It was fast, but it was also breaking down, so it was deep on the hills. It’s narrow so you have to be strategic. It’s very challenging, and some of that is skill and some of that is luck. You need a certain amount of sharpness to be strong on this course.”
The race began with a furious tempo on the 4km loop, with Norwegian Therese Johaug leading the way in her signature high-tempo style, favorable in the sugary snow conditions. Diggins, and American teammates Brennan and Sophia Laukli, kept their positions near the front.
Johaug pushed early in an attempt to open a gap 4 kilometers into the race, but Norwegian teammate Heidi Weng and Diggins were able to answer. Brennan dropped back in the second lap and appeared to struggle slightly with the pace. Weng and Johaug traded barbs, and while the field began to string out at the end of the second lap, the front pack was unable to open any gaps.
Diggins appeared deliberate in her positioning and could be seen free skating while the other contenders continued working at high speeds. Early in the third lap, Brennan, true to her surging style, was able to improve upon her positioning as French skier Flora Dolci took a turn at the front and the field began breaking apart.
Laukli led the charge in the second chase group, featuring Diggins and Swedish sprinting star Jonna Sundling, as Johaug and Weng finally broke off the front. Diggins slowly reeled back Weng and Johaug and, with Sundling’s help, reached the Norwegians to create a pack of four, with Diggins accepting the draft in the rear.
On the final hill approaching the finish, Johaug pushed the pace but appeared to fade towards the top (second slide above for video). Diggins moved to Johaug’s inside, eased herself past Johaug, and then overtook Weng. A final sprint to the finish saw legendary sprinter Sundling gaining ground on Diggins down the homestretch but ultimately running out of real estate, as Diggins took the win by 0.3 seconds. Heidi Weng rounded out the podium in third, with Johaug fourth. It was a historically rare finish off the podium in a distance race for the mother of a toddler.
In response to feeling the pressures of the race — Diggins was second in the Ruka 20km skate last year, and has to be on any shortlist of favorites in skate races — Diggins told Nordic Insights, “I do put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well in a distance skate race; I feel pressure from the outside. I learned from last year that it’s not healthy and it’s not fun. It removes the joy if you feel like you have to perform.”
During the race, she continued, “I was trying to take notes and play with the slingshot and practice maneuvering in the pack and at one point, I was trying to match Johaug’s tempo. I thought, This is so cool, I’m getting a technique lesson in the middle of this race! So there were a lot of different things I was thinking about to try to keep it fun, to try to keep it light, and still race hard and race smart. But not put pressure on myself for results.”
Easing into the season, indeed.
Laukli improved upon last year’s result with a top-ten finish (10th), skiing aggressively in the field and animating her chase pack.
“I was really psyched with today and how I felt,” Laukli remarked in comments shared via USSS. “It was definitely a hilly course but I found out pretty quick that the downhills almost played a bigger part and kept bringing the pack back together. But I was feeling good so I really tried to push and break it up on the uphills and flats so that it could be a smaller group at the finish (so that I could at least be last in the sprint finish in a smaller field).”
“But what I’m most happy about,” continued the 24-year-old, “is that I had the confidence to make moves and take the lead in the chase a couple of times. I never really did that last year so I’m excited to ski a bit more aggressive this year. I also felt like I have never skied as technically well as I did today so that’s a huge confidence boost as well.”
Brennan followed in 20th, alluding on Instagram to having a rough time on the day. Julia Kern and Alayna Sonnesyn (Team Birkie) finished 30th and 31st, respectively. Sydney Palmer-Leger was 35th, and Haley Brewster finished 42nd.
Racing continues next weekend in Lillehammer, starting with a 10km interval-start skate on Friday. A skate sprint and a 20km skiathlon follow.
You’re reading this on Nordic Insights, one man’s labor of love dedicated to publicizing American nordic skiing. Last season’s GoFundMe is literally the only reason why I turned a profit in years one and two of Nordic Insights, and in turn the only reason why there is a year three of Nordic Insights for you to be reading now: I was okay with working for very little money to get this love letter to American cross-country skiing off the ground, but I didn’t want to lose money for the privilege of doing so. If you would like to support what remains a brutally shoestring operation, last season’s GoFundMe may be found here. Thank you for your consideration, and, especially, for reading.
