Six Americans in top 30 in Stage 4 Ski Tour 2020

Jessie Diggins finished seventh and led a strong push by the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team with six athletes finishing in the top 30 in Thursday’s 34k freestyle Queen Stage of Ski Tour 2020. 

“That was really fun, and really hard,” Jessie said. “It was an all-out effort, and I’m really proud of that since it was one of my big goals for this tour - to go all out every single race!”

Rosie Brennan was 10th, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen was 11th, Julia Kern finished 19th and Rosie Frankowski was 29th. Therese Johaug led a podium sweep for Norway, with Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg in second and Heidi Weng in third.

“I was in a great group with Krista (Parmakoski of Finland) and Therese, and we worked together to make a gap, and I had so much fun skiing with them while pushing as hard as possible,” Jessie added.

With the strong wind throughout the race, athletes were focused on staying in a group as much as possible.

"It was really windy still making it challenging to ski alone out there," Rosie said. "Knowing that I did all I could to stay in my group. There were a few kilometers that I was dangling and unsure if I could hang, but I was, fortunately, able to find another gear climbing and work my way back up to my group."

"It was windy as heck, which made the course super tough, but still beautiful," Sadie added. "I didn’t look around a ton, because I was so focused, but in the few chances we went down a hill, and I got a glimpse, I just felt so lucky to be part of this fun experience. It is so different than any race I have ever done, and the total 'unknown' put the cherry on top."

In the men’s 34k race, David Norris was 26th. The race, which was originally scheduled as a 38k point to point between Storlien in Sweden and Meråker in Norway, was shortened to 34k and as an out-and-back from Meråker stadium to Fjergen and then back to Meråker stadium due to strong winds.

“Toughest race of the season,” David said. “From 3k to the finish, the pace rarely got easy. The strong head and crosswinds made even the gentle terrain really challenging. But I’m pleased with my effort and now I’m looking forward to the final stage of the tour- another 30k.”

Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov won the race, followed by Norway’s Johannes Klaebo in second and Emil Iversen in third.

Jessie sits sixth in the overall standings through four stages, followed by Rosie in ninth and Sadie in 12th. Julia moved up to 27th overall following her strong result in Stage 4. In the men’s standings, David is 29th overall with two stages remaining, a classic sprint for Stage 5, followed by the final stage classic pursuit, 15k for the women and 30k for the men.

RESULTS
Stage 4 
Women’s 34k freestyle
Men’s 34k freestyle

STANDINGS (Through Stage 4)
Women
Men

Friday, Feb. 21
Travel day

Saturday, Feb. 22
Stage 5 Trondheim, NOR
Classic sprint

Sunday, Feb. 23
Stage 6 Trondheim, NOR
Classic pursuit, 15k women, 30k men

HOW TO WATCH
Saturday, Feb. 22
7:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men and women’s classic sprint, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb 23
5:00 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:05 a.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m.. - Ski Tour 2020, Women’s 15k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*
1:00 p.m. - Ski Tour 2020, Men’s 30k pursuit, Trondheim, NOR - Olympic Channel*

*Same-day broadcast

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.