Lillehammer World Cup Kicks Off with 10k Skate; Diggins Fifth, Laukli 15th
In a weekend featuring a trio of races at the iconic Lillehammer cross country venue, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team put together a strong day despite the challenging conditions. Jessie Diggins led the charge in fifth, Sophia Laukli in 15th and Gus Schumacher in 25th.
One might say today's conditions were slow; Schumacher described them as "tough," but the athletes did what they had to: click the skis on and hammer down for 10k of skating. The Lillehammer venue, which dates back to the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, is one of the most iconic Olympic venues, and today, it plays host to the best cross country skiers in the world, including many hometown favorites.
The men kicked off the action, with seven U.S. men on the start list, including, Michael Earnhart, John Steel Hagenbuch, Zak Ketterson, Zanden McMullen, Ben Ogden, Hunter Wonders and Schumacher.
It was anyone's game, with 15-second intervals splitting up a field of 87 men. Interval start races can be mentally challenging, with athletes only knowing their results from coaches on the course giving "splits." Splits are where a coach can use live timing to determine the time it takes to complete a section of the race course, essentially giving the athlete an idea of how far ahead or behind they are to the leader or another athlete.
How does one define success in a race like today's? Schumacher adds, “success for me is executing well, going through the motions and not getting too caught up in the results. It’s a long season, if I can recognize that I will do better at World Champs, where things matter more - its just time to relax and not stress too much about it - that’s success for me."
Behind Schumacher in 15th was Ogden in 31st, McMullen, coming off a career-best result in Ruka in 32nd, Hagenbuch in 38th, Wonders in 53rd, Earnhart in 64th and Ketterson in 72nd, respectively. Norway ultimately dominated the day and swept the podium, led by Lillehammer's own Martin Loewstroem Nyenget in first, Simen Hegstad Krueger in second and the 2023-24 Overall World Cup champion Harald Oestberg Amundsen in third.
The women's turn. The snow began to fall a little heavier around the man-made artificial snow loop. Eight women represented the U.S. today, led by Diggins, Laukli, then Rosie Brennan, coming off two top-10s the weekend prior, Julia Kern, Sydney Palmer-Leger, Alayna Sonnesyn, and Renae Anderson. With live splits showing how athletes were doing, Laukli and Diggins were putting up a fight in the top 10.
How do you ski interval start races? "I just want to go out there and ski like every race is a three-second battle for the win. Which is to say, I am going to go out there and try as hard as I can," Diggins said. "I am racing the course against my own limitations. That's what I like to think about - my process goals. How am I going to pace this? How am I going to ski most efficiently? How am I going to pick seconds here... I am just thinking hard the whole time."
It was a similar story for the women's field, with another Norwegian sweep. 100-time World Cup winner Therese Johaug, officially coming out of retirement last weekend in Ruka, put the hammer down and was victorious in her home country alongside two teammates—Heidi Weng in second and Astrid Oeyre Slind in third.
Diggins did her best in the finishing stretch - put everything on the line. Across the finish, she was fourth, only to be pushed to fifth by less than two seconds when Sweden's Frida Karlsson crossed the line. Today's fifth place still gives Diggins enough points to continue her top-three rank in the overall standings, sitting second behind Johaug.
When the last racer crossed the line, the results were set. Diggins was fifth, Laukli 15th, Brennan just out of the top 30 in 31st, Kern 34th, Sonnesyn 35th, Palmer-Leger 47th, Brewster 55th, and Anderson 68th.
When asked about pressure, Laukli said it's a "good problem."
"I would say there is a bit more pressure for sure, but I’d say this is a good “problem," said Laukli. "It just means I’m closer to being at the top in the field, and that’s always what I’m working towards. But it can definitely make racing a bit more stressful, both with more expectations from myself and from others. But again, it’s a sign I’m moving in the right direction, so I take it as positive pressure."
Now, the team will reset before tomorrow's race, the skate sprint. Watch LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live, with qualifications (not streamed) at 3:00 a.m. ET and sprint rounds/finals at 5:30 a.m. ET.
