Randall Leads Strong Team Showing
LAHTI, Finland (March 3) - Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) led three Americans into the points in a World Cup skiathlon event Saturday in Lahti. Randall was 12th followed by Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN) in 18th and Liz Stephen in 21st. Randall remains fourth in the overall FIS World Cup standings. Norway's Therese Johaug took the win in the race with 7.5k legs in both classic and freestyle technique. Dario Cologna won the men's 15k x 15k. Randall will be looking to protect her World Cup sprint lead Sunday in a classic sprint.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) led three Americans into the points finishing 12th. Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN) was 12th, Liz Stephen (E. Montpelier, VT) 21st in the 7.5k x 7.5k mixed technique skiathlon.
- Randall remained fourth in the overall FIS World Cup standings.
- Randall was 16th after the classic leg, moving up in freestyle to finish 12th.
- Kris Freeman (Andover, NH) led the U.S. men in 32nd in a 15k x 15k
- Randall will seek to defend her 129 point lead over Russian Natalia Matveeva in a classic race Sunday. A fast pace is expected on the 1.4k course which features 49 meters of climb on two separate hills.
- Three sprints remain: Lahti, Drammen and Stockholm (only 50 World Cup points will be awarded in Stockholm as part of mini-tour).
QUOTES
Kikkan Randall
A solid day for me and a solid day for the team with almost four in the top 30.
The classic course was very challenging with big climbs and fast downhills with icy turns. Our techs did an awesome job with the skis. The skate course skied really well with a good mix of climbs, fast descents and also flat working sections. The conditions were super fast and icy which made most of the turns pretty dicey. Staying on your feet and avoiding collisions was definitely key today.
Today was a good sign that I have rebounded from my 2nd round of the stomach bug that I got right after Poland. I wasn't sure how today would go but I think this bodes well for the final period.
Tomorrow’s sprint features a big climb out of the stadium - almost two minutes worth - some crazy corners and lots of gliding coming into the stadium. So bodies and skis will be important.
Jessie Diggins
Going into the race I had no expectations. That stomach flu thing really hit me hard and took quite a while to bounce back from, so I just wanted to use today as a chance to get back into the World Cup racing and not worry about where I would place. And in general that kind of attitude is much better for me and produces better, and more fun, race experiences.
RESULTS
Official Results
