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By Lukas S. Pigott
HOLMENKOLLEN — In the legendary Holmenkollen fog, a legendary race was back on the World Cup program: the Holmenkollen 50km.
The race had a new twist this year, with the men and women now racing on the same day. With the crowds at the storied venue traditionally being much bigger on Saturday, the hope was that the spectators could see both the men and women on the same day racing side by side.
The only problem with that plan was that the fog was so thick that you could barely see your own nose, and occasionally the contours of ski racers only a few meters away. Even the timing systems were struggling to pick up the signals from athletes’ transponders as they passed through various checkpoints throughout the course, with the FIS live timing app occasionally showing aberrant results suggesting that an athlete had taken a flyer from 30-somethingth place and gapped the leaders by three minutes before correcting itself a kilometer or two alter.
Talking to Nordic Insights after the race, third-place finisher Jonna Sundling of Sweden said that at some points she had to simply guess where the track went and try to remember how the corners were from previous laps because the fog was so thick.
In the end it was teammate Frida Karlsson who emerged from the fog with the Swedish flag to take a convincing victory, just like she did here two years ago.
Karlsson had broken away from her competitors around the 34km mark, then continued to extend her lead to the finish; she would put nearly two minutes into a murderers’ row of World Cup skiers over the final third of the race. The dominant performance showcased yet again that when Karlsson is in form, she is simply the best.
Behind her Jessie Diggins had been skiing in a group with Norwegians Heidi Weng, Karoline Grøtting, and Nora Sanness, as well as Swedish sprinters Linn Svahn and Jonna Sundling.
Despite some in the group struggling to hold on, and others attacking, the slipstream effect on the downhill from Frogneseteren meant that the pack repeatedly regrouped and no one was able to get away.
Ultimately Diggins had to see herself beat in her last ever 50km race. Svahn and Sundling took the last two podium places to make it triple Swedish in Norway, while Diggins came in fifth in her six-women chase pack to claim sixth overall. Second through seventh today came in nearly two minutes behind Karlsson, who, again, was untouchable today.
With the jury investigating an incident involving Linn Svahn on the final part of the course, the medal ceremony was postponed, but ultimately it was deemed a race incident rather than something sanctionable and the Swedish podium sweep stood. Expressen reported that it was, somehow, Sweden’s first ever sweep in a World Cup distance race.
“Fun! It was really fun! Good day, good skis, good body” Sundling told Nordic Insights in the mixed zone. “Good company on the course of two other Swedes. But the fact that we were three on the podium made the day much better. It was fun to compete here today, even though the weather was a bit so-so.”
Karlsson told Nordic Insights that the Norwegian crowd had for the most part behaved themselves today, despite some people heckling her with things like “Heidi is right behind you!” or groups chanting “Frida is tired.”
On her race today, Diggins told Nordic Insights, “I was really proud because that’s the thing that you can control is your grit and your effort, and I just fought as hard as I could and really got everything out of my body.”
“I was actually really happy though because I did start cramping with like 10 or 11km to go, but that was better than at the Olympics where I was cramping the whole last 20km. So that was a really nice gift. I definitely did everything I could and I was really proud of that.”
While Diggins finished in sixth, 1:58 behind Karlsson, rising star Alison Mackie of Canada, who is still just 20 years old, logged another strong race as she finished in 14th, 3:11 off the winning time.
“It was a really tough race,” Mackie told us. “The first 50 kilometers race I did in skate, but I was really happy with it.”
What was your race plan?
“Just to stay as close to the group as I can and do as little work as possible.”
Mackie, who said that she had great skis, executed her plan well, managing to conserve energy and stay in the leading group for half of the race.
With the athletes having the option of changing skis once across the six laps of the 8.3km course, Mackie told Nordic Insights, “The group I was with switched after the fourth lap and I think that was really helpful.” (As an aside, athletes climbed a heady 2,004 meters, or over 6,500 feet, in today’s race. There’s a reason that Holmenkollen is legendary.)
With the course being salted amid temps well above freezing, race times were fast as the snow hardened up. Karlsson crossed the line in under 2:08, while men’s winner Einar Hedegart stopped the clock in an eye-popping 1:51. Despite the air humidity at 94 percent there was no real rain, meaning that the course luckily didn’t turn to ice like it did in Drammen a few days ago.
“The downhills are really fast and soft in some sections, but I managed to stay on my feet and I’m really happy with it,” Mackie told Nordic Insights.
“I’m really happy with my consistency overall. It’s been a long season,” Mackie continued. “I’ve been on the road since December. I’ve been really happy with how I’ve managed my energy and been able to recover after big championships and races. I’ve done two championships in the past month [both the Olympics and then World U23s], and I think more experience in the World Cup will just keep me getting stronger each year.”
Her teammate Liliane Gagnon also skied a strong race, hanging onto the leading group for a long time en route to crossing the line in 23rd overall.
“I think a 50km skate can eventually be a really good race for me,” Gagnon mused, “so I gave it my all at the start. After 30 kilometers, though, I kind of fell back. But I tried, and it was still a pretty good race.”
How has the season been for you in general?
“Oh, it’s definitely been up and down. I started the season and got pretty sick and then would have back problems and then get sick again. So it was rough off the start, but now it’s coming back and I’ve had a couple of good races so far, sprinting as well. So, yeah, it’s coming back.”
How was it for the Canadian skiers this year to miss Period 1 World Cup racing while having to peak for early-season qualification races?
“Oviously, I don’t think it’s ideal for us. Maybe in retrospect, starting the season a little later can be good for now, for the end of the season. But it comes with its benefits and with its challenges.”
Anything you’re excited to work on heading into next year?
“I definitely need to work a bit on my classic. I think I got the skate down, but I need to work on my classic and finding a bit more consistency throughout this season. Hopefully building a bit more stronger immune system and not getting sick as much. But overall, I think I’m heading on the right direction.”
Kendall Kramer drew on her recent experience from the Olympic 50km classic for her first ever skate 50km race at the World Cup level; she previously competed in the Sonot Kkaazoot, a citizens race in her native Fairbanks, in spring 2022.
“I think I was kind of out of it from the beginning just because my skis just weren’t keeping up with people,” was Kramer’s candid take on today. “So there was a really good group that kind of got away. I think that they worked together really well, but I was kind of behind them, but I was just happy to finish it and finish another 50km. I always just get worried that I’m not going to be able to finish, and that’s the worst case scenario.”
“It was more pleasant than the Olympic 50km because I really felt like I had good energy the whole time and my technique felt really strong. I think doing one 50km really prepared me better for this one,” she told Nordic Insights.
When asked if there was anything specific she had learned from racing the Olympic 50km, Kramer said, “I learned that I take every single feed. Honestly, that’s really been helping me not cramp, not bonk. I tend to bonk pretty hard in sessions and so finding out to feed that often has been really helpful. And having completed one just knowing, just going in with the confidence knowing that I can do it.”
Kramer could tell Nordic Insights that she was consuming gels and drink mix from Maurten as well as water. Arguably a more professional option then the one a certain male skier opted for today. You can read more about that here, as well as find a deep dive on more traditional fueling options here.
How is that taking a gel when you’re trying to keep up this pace skiing at the same time?
“The feed stations at least here were really good. They were at a place where your breathing has kind of slowed down a little bit and it’s before a downhill and so quite comfortable. I think having done it so many times, you kind of get the breathing rate down and it’s like second nature.”
As for her takeaways from the season as a whole, Kramer said, “It was a season where I learned a lot in my first season at the World Cup, and I feel like a much more mature and strong athlete now.”
“I feel like I’ve had so many new racing experiences that I just can’t really tap into domestically and my gosh, it’s been amazing.”
With today being one of Diggins’s last ever races, and with Diggins being gracious with her time in the mixed zone, I took the chance to let her reflect back on the incredible career she has had.
How is it to race your last 50km?
“I was just happy to leave it all out there and to feel like my energy is good, fitness is good,” Diggins said. “You never know what’s gonna happen in the last weeks of a very long season so I’m really grateful for that.”
“There’s just a lot of emotions especially knowing this was Krista [Pärmäkoski’s] last race because we’ve been racing together since we were really little. I had a full-on cry fest already, and I’m sure that will just keep going into next week.”
“A lot of cool emotions, but it’s sort of like you can only have big emotions when you care so much, when you’ve had a big experience and big relationships and things that are really important to you. I think it’s okay that I have big feelings, and that just is equal to what this sport and these people have meant to me.”
How is it going to be not seeing all these people on the World Cup circuit anymore?
“I’m just really going to miss the people. And obviously my team, because it’s family to me. I have so many friends on other teams from all over the world, and it feels like a lot of us have just kind of grown up together.”
“Hopefully I’ll still get to see them in the future at different events, so I’m hopeful that, you know, I’m retiring, I’m not, like, moving to the moon, so I will hopefully get to still see them, but I’m definitely going to miss everyone.”
How is it going to be to not have racing in your life?
“I am definitely at the point where I’m sort of an anti-competitive racer where sprinting isn’t that exciting to me because it’s all about having to beat the person next to you, whereas an individual start race is just going out there and seeing if you can put together the puzzle of the course.”
“It’s just you and the clock and the course and that’s it. And that’s the thing that motivates me and drives me. It’s not really about trying to beat somebody else. Probably because I’m friends with like 99% of the World Cup.”
“So I think for me, I’m going to miss being part of the circus. But I don’t know that I’m going to miss the racing in that way because I’ve gotten to do 300 whatever races and I feel like if I feel the urge to really go challenge myself, I can go start my stopwatch and run around in the woods and still get that feeling of pushing myself hard. I’m always going to want to push myself hard, but I think I’m kind of over that competitive side.”
What percentage chance is there that we see you on the start line next year?
“Zero, zero. No chance, no. People are trying to manifest this, ‘Oh it’s your last year wink wink, but is it really,’ and I’m like, No, pretty sure I know I’m done.”
How is it going to be racing at home next weekend?
“Honestly, I’m probably just going to be super emotional and crying the entire race.
“So I’m not putting pressure on myself. 20km skates are great, but at the same time, my career isn’t, What have you done for me lately. It’s the entirety of everything that I’ve brought to the sport, and so I’m putting zero pressure on myself for these last three races.”
“I just want to enjoy them and have fun and enjoy the experience of being there with my husband and my parents and my high school coach and my family and my team. That’s the big goal for me.”
To sum up, what would you like to be remembered for?
“The advocacy. Easy.”
“The advocacy, the joy, and the glitter.”
“The way I talk about mental health, the way I talk about climate, the way I work on a lot of different causes that are really important to me and found a way to use the ski racing results and my voice to do something that really matters to me.”
Speaking to Nordic Insights, U.S. Ski Team head coach Matt Whitcomb was clearly a very proud coach.
“It’s amazing to watch iconic racers ski their last lap around an iconic venue,” Whitcomb said. “In front of incredible fans and an amazing event, a new event with two 50 k’s the same day. It was very special, it was emotional.”
“I got choked up on like lap four watching Krista [Pärmäkoski] go by because she’s not going to Lake Placid.”
“Of course we’re gonna miss the results from Jessie, but that’s the last thing that we’re gonna miss. The first thing is her commitment to her teammates.”
The athletes have the rest of today to recover as best they can. Sunday sees them jumping on a plane for the season finale in Lake Placid, where Diggins will bid her final farewell to this sport at World Cup Finals.
Lake Placid will host a 10km classic on Friday, a skate sprint on Saturday, and a 20km mass start skate on Sunday. Nordic Insights will be out in force, with two reporters and two photographers at all three races. Don’t touch that dial.
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Did the FIS not allow the USA woman to start 4 racers? Four USA men skied 50 km, Two USA woman skied 50 KM. Back of the napkin calculation of Equal Distance racing suggests two woman did not get to ski equal distance as two men did. But if only two were allowed to race, it is out of the hands of the US Ski Team to promote equal distance racing.
Too often anything over top 10 is not a celebrated result. I see nothing wrong with Kramer’s result, so hopefully it does get mentioned what place everyone got, not just the top athletes.
On to Lake Placid!