Nordic

Diggins Fifth in 10k Pursuit

by
USSA
2016-03-05 17:26
 

QUEBEC, Canada (March 5, 2016) – Two U.S. women skied to a top-10 finish in a FIS World Cup 10k freestyle pursuit in the Ski Tour Canada on Saturday. Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN) finished fifth overall while Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, WA) finished 10th. These efforts also moved Diggins and Bjornsen up to fifth and 10th in the overall Tour standings, respectively, as they go into the races in Canmore on Tuesday.

With four races down and four to go in the Ski Tour Canada, Diggins is on track towards a top five overall finish in the Tour. The best ever U.S. finish in the Tour de Ski was Liz Stephen’s (East Montpelier, VT) fifth overall in 2015.

“That was a great race for me,” said Diggins. “To have so many USA fans here and of course my family really made it special, and I felt great skiing today!”

In the women’s pursuit, it was a battle between Norway’s Heidi Weng and teammate Therese Johaug. Weng made an incredible effort to hang on to Johaug as she tried her hardest to drop Weng, but Weng was resilient throughout the race. In the final stretch Weng made a bold move to sneak around Johaug in the final stretch to secure the victory by a toe and extend her overall tour lead. Weng finished just 0.1 seconds over Johaug, while teammate Astrid Jacobsen followed in third, for a Norwegian podium sweep.  


Sadie Bjornsen races in the 10k pursuit. (Reese Brown)

Diggins started the race in seventh and hammered through the course, eventually moving her way up to fifth. Diggins powered past Sweden’s Stina Nilsson by 2.1k, making Norway’s Ingvild Oestberg her next point of attack. With Oestberg starting 29 seconds ahead of Diggins, Diggins had time to make up and intense determination to make it happen. With less than five kilometers to go, Diggins caught Oestberg and was able to hold her off to the finish, just 3.9 seconds ahead.

“I love being on the chase and I just went out going for as many people as possible!” said Diggins.

Bjornsen also made an amazing effort skiing in the second chase pack, which was the battle for the final spots in the top 10. Bjornsen skied in ninth for the majority of the race until the final stretch until she had to settle for tenth in a lunge for the finish with Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla.

Stephen was the next American, finishing in 29th. Rosie Brennan (Park City, UT) was 32nd, Chelsea Holmes (Girdwood, AK) 39th, Ida Sargent (Orleans, VT) 40th, Sophie Caldwell (Peru, VT) 42nd, Caitlin Gregg (Minneapolis, MN) 44th, Kaitlynn Miller (Lake Elmore, VT) 47th, Katherine Ogden (Landgrove, VT) 54th, Anne Hart (Stillwater, MN) 55th and Jennie Bender (Johnson, VT) 59th.


Liz Stephen cracked the top 30, finishing 29th. (Reese Brown)

In the men’s 15k pursuit, Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov secured another win to extend his overall tour lead by 22.7 seconds over Norway’s Petter Northug. Ustiugov led the entire race to eventually finish first 17.7 seconds over Northug. Norway’s Emil Iversen finished third.

Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, WA) led the U.S. men once again in an impressive battle for a spot in the top 30. Bjornsen skied the majority of the race in 29th but in the final stretch to the finish, Bjornsen ended up 32nd overall.

Behind Bjornsen, Simi Hamilton (Aspen, CO) was 40th, Noah Hoffman (Aspen, CO) 44th, Scott Patterson (Anchorage, AK) 53rd, Eric Packer (Anchorage, AK) 68th, Reese Hanneman (Anchorage, AK) 72nd, Tad Elliott (Durango, CO) 75th, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend, OR) 77th, Matthew Liebsch (Minneapolis, MN) 79th, Brian Gregg (Minneapolis, MN) 80th and Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) 81st.

Competition continues Tuesday, March 8 in Canmore with a classic sprint. The races will be streamed live beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST at NBC Sports Live Extra.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Jessie Diggins had the fourth-fastest time and Sadie Bjornsen had the fifth-fastest time of the day in the women’s 10k pursuit.
  • Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov and Norway’s Heidi Weng both held on to their overall tour leads in the pursuit. Ustiugov extended his lead by 22.7 seconds over Norway’s Petter Northug, while Weng extended her lead by 5.1 seconds over teammate Therese Johaug.
  • This was Ustiugov’s fourth consecutive podium of the Ski Tour Canada.
  • World Cup overall leader Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway recorded the fastest time of the day, but still sits over two minutes back in the Tour standings.

STREAMING SCHEUDLE (times EST)

Tuesday, March 8
3:00 p.m. - Men’s and women’s classic sprint, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra

Wednesday, March 9
12:00 p.m. - Women’s 15k skiathlon, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra
2:30 p.m. - Men’s 30k skiathlon, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra

Friday, March 11
11:45 a.m. - Women’s 10k freestyle interval start, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra
3:00 p.m. - Men’s 15k freestyle interval start, Canmore - LIVE - NB Sports Live Extra

Saturday, March 12
3:00 p.m. - Women’s 10k classic pursuit, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra
4:00 p.m. - Men’s 15k classic pursuit, Canmore - LIVE - NBC Sports Live Extra

QUOTES

Jessie Diggins
That was a great race for me. To have so many USA fans here and of course my family really made it special, and I felt great skiing today! I love being on the chase and I just went out going for as many people as possible!

RESULTS
Men’s 15k Pursuit
Women’s 10k Pursuit

OVERALL TOUR STADNINGS (after four races)
Men’s Standings
Women’s Standings

 


 


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