Sundling Beats Skistad at Home in Drammen Classic Sprint; Diggins 10th

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By Lukas S. Pigott

DRAMMEN, Norway — It could have been any random grim-weathered day in downtown Drammen, a city of around 30,000 people situated on the Oslofjord, 30km southwest of Oslo. But there were signs that this was not the case.

Alvar Myhlback casually walking over the bridge connecting the two parts of the city in his ski boots was the first of these. Ski race music being blasted almost to the point of deafness and a snow-covered main street confirmed that we had found the right place.

It was time for yet another edition of the beloved downtown sprint in Drammen, back on the World Cup calendar after a year off last season. A strong American team was at the start line earlier Thursday to race a technical and tactical course.

In the qualification round it was Linn Svahn who clocked the fastest time, winning with 2:41.87, a healthy 2.5+ seconds ahead of her compatriot Jonna Sundling.

In her last-ever classic sprint, Jessie Diggins finished the prologue in a solid 17th.

Podium finisher from the last time the World Cup circuit was In downtown Drammen, Rossie Brennan just made it inside the top 30. She finished 28th in the prologue, meaning that she would get to keep on racing in the quarterfinals.

While the margins were in Brennan’s favor today, this was unfortunately not the case for Sammy Smith. She finished 35th, under a second outside of the top 30.

Talking to Nordic Insights after her qualifier, Smith said, “It felt alright, I don’t know. Gosh it’s frustrating to be so close, but it was fun.”

“This is my third time racing here,” Smith continued. “I was hoping the third time was a charm, but it’s a really cool atmosphere out here and they always do such a good job putting it on and with all the fans the energy is great.”

When asked about the upcoming races in Lake Placid, Smith said, “It’s going to be an atmosphere, we are going to have a lot of American fans out there. It’s always special to get a race on home soil.”

Another athlete who just missed out on advancing was Canadian Alison Mackie.

Fresh off taking home the title in the 20km mass start event at the U23 World Championships in Lillehammer last week, Mackie said that while she was proud to represent Canada at U23s, “it’s also nice to be back racing the World Cup.”

“I’ve struggled with sprint qualifiers this year,” Mackie said. “I’ve been closer and closer to qualifying. It’s a work in progress, but overall I’m good today.”

Lauren Jortberg of Mansfield Pro finished 50th, while Erin Bianco (BSF Pro) ended the race in 57th.

“That was hard,” Erin Bianco told Nordic Insights after her qual. “I felt good though, I was very strong in my doublepole. It’s kind of what I’ve been working on in the last month. But it was fun.”

When asked about how it was to race here Bianco said, “It’s such a cool scene. I just get too hyped up. It’s a special place for racing.”

With the wind blowing skis around the mixed zone and sending debris onto the course, it was time for the heats.

In the first quarterfinal Diggins finished third, but had a time strong enough to advance to the semifinals.

The second quarterfinal was marred by a crash taking out five of the six skiers in the field. Going through the final corner, which according to multiple athletes had gotten a lot more icy after the qualifier, Linn Svahn crashed, taking out almost all her competitors as well. She was however quick on her feet again and managed to sprint down Sofie Krehl (Germany) to advance to the semifinals, but not without having to use a lot of energy.

The crash caused some to raise questions about the course which had evidently become very icy after already being very hard due to salting yesterday.

In quarterfinal 3, Brennan didn’t manage to advance, finishing the heat in fifth.

When asked about the long downhill stretch of the course where she seemed to lose some ground despite having the slipstream Brennan said, “Well, I kind of messed it up. I caught an edge coming out of the tracks and bobbled at the beginning and then kind of lost the draft. So that wasn’t ideal.”

“I love this race,” Brennan continued. “I’m definitely not a fan of most city sprints but this one I love” was her take on city sprints. “It’s always been one of my favorite World Cups even when it hasn’t gone my way. We don’t do that many classic [city sprints] for one, but it also has good terrain, like there’s a bit of everything and you kind of have to be good at a lot of different skills, so I really like this one.”

Would you like to see more city sprints on the World Cup program?

“If they’re like this… I don’t know about wet sloppy flat skate sprints” she said laughing.

If you could choose to have a city sprint anywhere where would that be?

“Somewhere in the U.S. for sure. Maybe Utah or Anchorage.”

In the first semifinal Svahn seemed to struggle from her efforts in the quarterfinal while Sundling and local Kristine Stavås Skistad advanced to the final.

They would be joined by Nadine Fähndrich (Switzerland) in her last ever classic sprint as well as Laura Gimmler (Germany), Johanna Hagstrøm (Sweden), and Ane Appelkvist Stenseth (Norway).

Diggins just missed out on a place in the final, finishing her semi in fifth place.

After putting on some warm clothes, Diggins returned to the mixed zone for a quick chat about the day. 

“Drammen was my first ever World Cup when I was a baby, so it’s just really fun to be here” she told Nordic Insights. “I was proud of myself for trying to be patient and tactical, which is normally not my style, and I was trying to believe in myself as a sprinter.”

“Unfortunately, strength is not my strength right now. But I was trying, and I was proud of myself for … kind of thinking outside the box and trying to do something a little different.”

Like any great athlete, her focus was already on the next goal. “Now I get 40 hours to rest before the 50km,” Diggins reasoned, “but I’m excited about that because a long grinder is more of my strength.” 

In the hope of picking up some downhill skiing tricks, I asked about how she made it from fifth to second on the long downhill.

“Well, I knew the draft was insane,” Diggins recounted. “So I wanted to have the right amount of slingshot. I was practicing in warmup. Being right on someone’s tail is too close, and then too far is too far. So I was like, What’s the right amount? And then just like cornering well and getting super low.”

Of the final corner, she said that it is “super sketchy,” so it’s “just trying to stay on your feet and ski aggressively, but also falling is the worst.”

And in case anyone was wondering, if Diggins couldn’t have a city sprint at Allianz Field in the Twin Cities, Central Park in Manhattan would be her second choice.

In the final, Skistad controlled the pace and it came down to a two-up sprint between her and Sundling. In the end, Sundling had the final little extra, taking the win over Skistad on home soil.

To the Norwegian media Skistad said, “I’m just not good enough today,” while a happy Sundling told Expressen, “It felt surprisingly good, I felt alert all day. I could really go all out.”

Behind the Norway–Sweden battle, Fähndrich secured an emotional third place in her last ever classic sprint event, as she will retire at the end of the season.

Fähndrich told Nordic Insights after the race that she didn’t feel so good in the qualification, but then “everything went better and better.”

How have you been able to maintain good energy after the big drain of the Olympics?

“I’m also quite tired, but I think it’s the same for everyone. I have a feeling like you have good days and you have bad days. And you just hope that the good days are the right days.”

What is it like racing your last ever classic sprint?

“It was really emotional after the finish because my parents are here and it was the last race where they are here because they will not come to the U.S. I was very happy that I could make a podium because of that.”

When it comes to her retirement plans Fähndrich can reveal exclusively to Nordic Insights that she will be going for “a long trip to Australia,” which she seemed very excited about.

Hagstrøm finished in 4th place while Laura Gimmler finished 5th and Stenseth rounded out the final in 6th. 

Speaking to Nordic Insights after her race, Gimmler said, “I’m very, very tired, very empty since the Olympics. They cost me a lot, from the emotional side and everything. So a fifth place today, a final in the sprint is a really good thing at the moment.”

While she regretted going first down the long downhill when everyone stopped at the top, she was very happy to have won some hard-earned flowers for her efforts today.

Next up is the re-branded Holmenkollen race, where the men and women will be on the course at the same time, hopefully avoiding mishap. Is 40 hours enough time for Diggins to recover and be back at her best? Stay tuned to find out, though you probably shouldn’t bet against her.

Results

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