Jessie Diggins finished fourth to lead five members of the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team into the top 25 in the second stage freestyle sprint at the 14th Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Sunday. 

Sadie Maubet Bjornsen finished fifth, followed by Sophie Caldwell in ninth, Julia Kern in 14th and Rosie Brennan in 25th. In the men’s sprint, Logan Hanneman was 20th and Kevin Bolger 21st. 

After a disappointing start to the 14th Tour de Ski Saturday, in which Jessie and Sadie finished 29th and 30th respectively in the opening 10k mass start freestyle, Sunday’s result was a solid effort as Jessie moved up to 11th overall, just 39 seconds back of race leader Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia; and Sadie moved up to 12th overall, just two seconds behind Jessie.

“It was a nice day of revenge for stage two of the Tour de Ski, making it into the finals, and ending the day in fifth,” said Sadie, who was also the top qualifier. “(Saturday) I felt amazing, but had impossibly slow skis, and felt like it was a win to make it to the finish line, only losing 1:20 to the leader. The tech team worked extra hard to find a solution, and our entire team came back strong today! Although it was an imperfect start, positivity and constantly fighting are the two keys to this incredibly exciting event. I sometimes think the winners of the Tour de Ski are not the most physically fit people, but the most mentally tough.”

In the opening quarter-final heats, Jessie finished fourth but advanced as one of two lucky losers into the semi-final round. Sophie won her quarterfinal heat, and Julia, who skied a great race, got nipped at the line in a photo finish, finishing third. In the semi-finals, Jessie won the first heat, while Sophie finished fifth. In the second semi-final, Sadie was second to advance to the finals. 

In the finals, Jessie took the early lead - setting a blistering pace on the opening climb to string out the field. On the second lap though, Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla put in a hard effort up the climb and brought Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampic with her as Jessie held on to third. However, down the finish stretch, Anamarija nipped Maiken at the line for the victory, and Natalia came around Jessie to take the final podium position.

Up next, the athletes will enjoy a rest day Monday before Tuesday’s freestyle events, a 10k for the women and 15k for the men, in Toblach, Italy.

“I look forward to the next stop in Toblach for another attempt at a 10k skate, hopefully with equal revenge as today,” Sadie said. “I have some precious seconds to try to win back still. One day at a time.”

RESULTS
Stage 2 Tour de Ski
Women’s sprint
Men’s sprint

Tour de Ski Standings (Thought stage 2)
Women
Men

World Cup Standings
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.

Tuesday, Dec. 31
6:30 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 15k, Toblach, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k, Toblach, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Wednesday, Jan. 1
5:40 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k pursuit, Toblach, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 15k pursuit, Toblach, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Jan. 3
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k mass start, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 15k mass start, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 4
5:25 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men and women’s sprint, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 5
7:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Women’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Tour de Ski: Men’s 10k final climb, Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold 

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.