Diggins Moves Up To Second Overall In Tour de Ski
Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) skied a strong race to finish sixth in stage 2 of the FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski, a 10k individual start freestyle in Toblach, Italy, Sunday. Diggins’ performance moved her into second overall, 23 seconds behind leader Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia.
“Today was a good race for me,” said Diggins, who finished third overall in the Tour de Ski last season. “My body was still a bit tired from skiing all the sprint rounds but I was satisfied with the race I put together. To have a good overall tour it’s important to ski consistently, so I feel good about where I’m at.”
Nepryaeva, who was 30th in the opening stage sprint, won her first career World Cup victory Sunday with a time of 23 minutes, 19 seconds to move into the overall lead. Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg of Norway was second at 23:20, with Anastasia Sedova of Russia in third at 23:30. Diggins, who started the day third overall following her third-place in the stage 1 freestyle sprint, finished with a time of 23:47. Stage 1 winner Stina Nilsson of Sweden, dropped to 10th overall after finishing 39th in the second stage.
Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wa.) was 16th in the second stage and fell from sixth to eighth in the overall standings. Sophie Caldwell (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) finished stage two in 36th, falling from ninth to 22nd in the overall standings.
In the men’s 15k individual freestyle race, Russia took two podiums spots with Sergey Ustiugov in first and Alexander Bolshunov in third. In second place was Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krueger. Bolshunov moved into the overall lead, followed by Ustiugov in second and stage 1 winner Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway sitting third. Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) is the top-placed American in 50th overall.
The Tour de Ski heads into a rest day on Monday with stage 3, another freestyle sprint, taking place in Val Muestair, Switzerland, Tuesday.
RESULTS
Men’s 15k freestyle
Women’s 10k freestyle
OVERALL STANDINGS
Men through stage 2
Women through stage 2
HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
*Same-day delayed broadcast
Tuesday, Jan. 1
6:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski Stage 3 men and women’s sprint - Val Muestair, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
Wednesday, Jan. 2
6:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski Stage 4 women’s 10k mass start - Oberstdorf, GER - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski Stage 4 men’s 15k mass start - Oberstdorf, GER - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
Thursday, Jan. 3
7:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski Stage 5 men’s 15k pursuit - Oberstdorf, GER - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:45 a.m. - U.S. Cross Country Championships classic individual start - Craftsbury, Vt. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming
9:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski Stage 5 women’s 10k pursuit - Oberstdorf, GER - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
Friday, Jan. 4
9:15 a.m. - U.S. Cross Country Championships classic sprint - Craftsbury, Vt. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming
Saturday, Jan. 5
8:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski Stage Stage 6 women’s 10k mass start - Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:10 a.m. - Tour de Ski Stage Stage 6 men’s 15k mass start - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
2:00 p.m. - Tour de Ski Stage Stage 6 men’s 15k mass start - Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV*
Sunday, Jan. 6
7:00 a.m. - Tour de Ski Stage Stage 7 women’s hill climb - Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - U.S. Cross Country Championships freestyle sprint - Craftsbury, Vt. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming
8:45 a.m. - Tour de Ski Stage Stage 7 men’s hill climb - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
2:00 p.m. - Tour de Ski Stage Stage 7 men’s hill climb - Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV
