It was a day to remember for Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team as the Americans delivered standout performances in Ruka, Finland. Jessie Diggins showcased her tenacity with a commanding win in the women’s 20k skate. Zanden McMullen and Gus Schumacher powered to two top 10 results, with McMullen in seventh, a career-best, and Schumacher in eighth. 

Men’s 20k: McMullen and Schumacher Rise to the Challenge
The men’s 20k skate saw McMullen and Schumacher assert themselves early and stick with the lead pack throughout the 12+ miles of racing. Both skiers remained in contention throughout the tactical and challenging four-lap race, unfolding on a fast, climbing-heavy 4k loop with ripping descents that saw athletes reach up to 30mph. 

As the field entered the final 5k, the race turned tactical, with athletes deciding whether to push the pace or conserve energy by drafting. McMullen and Schumacher made their move, surging into 9th and 10th positions. By the final 3k, the duo sat within the lead pack, with McMullen in seventh and Schumacher just behind in eighth.

It was a career-best result for McMullen and Schumacher’s strong finish underscored his consistency and determination. 

"Career best result? Music to my ears," said McMullen. "I feel it gives me so much confidence that I’m making progress and learning how to ski at the highest level. There is so much value to knowing how to race challenging courses with the fastest in the world that you can only learn by trial and error." 

Ultimately, only one Austrian and the Norwegians stood ahead of the two Americans, a testament to the strength of the young U.S. men's squad. “This result is a critical dynamic for the U.S. team,” added Kikkan Randall during her commentary on skiandsnowboard.live. “It’s a long season, but performances like today show that the training and preparation are paying off. You carry this good feeling forward.”

Women’s 20k: Diggins Dominates, Laukli Impresses
The women’s race was a thriller, with Diggins executing a perfect strategy to claim her 24th career World Cup victory and 72nd podium. From the start, Diggins showed her intent, surging into the lead early and claiming a spot in the lead pack throughout the entirety of the race. 

The final lap was all-out chaos, with Diggins, Norway’s Therese Johaug and Heidi Weng, and Sweden's Jonna Sundling battling for the lead. Sophia Laukli took turns with the lead, eventually leading the chase pack into the last lap. The steep climbs and blistering downhills pushed everyone to their limits, but Diggins found another gear in the last kilometer. Closing a 13-second gap to the leaders, she unleashed a final surge, navigating the course’s technical sections precisely and with the intention to make a move on the final climb.  

“It was an epic battle,” said Diggins. “I was trying to be smart with the draft, but in the last kilometer, I saved it up, found a line, and played it well in the end. I also had amazing skis, so thank you to our wax techs," said Diggins following her victory. 

Behind Diggins, Sophia Laukli impressed with a 10th-place finish, showing her early-season form. Laukli, who placed 14th in this event last year, remained in the top 10 for much of the race, leading the chase pack and feeding off the energy of her competitors. Behind Laukli was Rosie Brennan in 20th and Julia Kern rounding out the top 30 in 30th. 

"What I’m most happy about is that I had the confidence to make moves and take the lead in the chase a couple of times, I never really did that last year so I’m excited to ski a bit more agressive this year," said Laukli. "I also felt like I have never skied as technically well as I did today so that’s a huge confidence boost as well."

A Momentum-Building Day 
With McMullen and Schumacher in the top 10 and Diggins atop the podium, the day marked a powerful start to the season for the U.S. team. Fast skis, smart strategies and relentless grit were the themes of the day, setting the tone for what promises to be a thrilling World Cup season.

“Big results like today show that the training and preparation are paying off,” said Randall. “The U.S. team is in Europe for the long haul, and they’re proving they belong among the world’s best.”

From the speed and skill of the men’s race to Diggins’ commanding finish in the women’s, it was a day for the books in Ruka—and the Americans are just getting started.

RESULTS
Men
Women

The 2024-25 season officially began with the 10k classic individual start in Ruka, Finland, with two in the top ten, including Jessie Diggins in seventh and Rosie Brennan in ninth. Schumacher led the men’s team in 18th.

This season, athletes will compete in 15 weeks of races, including the annual Tour de Ski and then World Championships, totaling more than 30 competitions. Kicking off in Ruka, the home of the first World Cup of the season, the Finnish crowds welcomed back the best skiers in the world to their course, which included some of the steepest hills and ripping descents on the circuit. Athletes kicked out the start gate every 30 seconds in the individual start format. 

For the women, the U.S. athletes competing included Haley Brewster, Julia Kern, Sydney Palmer-Leger, Brennan, Diggins, Sophia Laukli, and Alayna Sonnesyn of Team Birkie. For the men, Ben Ogden was back in the start gate after a season cut short due to illness, alongside teammates Schumacher, Zanden McMullen, Michael Earnhart, and Alaska Pacific University athlete Hunter Wonders. John Steel Hagenbuch did not start. 

Women Take on Ruka 10k

The women started the day with U.S. National Champion and University of Vermont athlete Haley Brewster out first for the team. As athlete after athlete left the start, one name that stood out was Norway’s Therese Johaug. Johaug retired in 2022 and is back on the World Cup circuit. Her storied career includes 83 individual World Cup wins, six Olympic medals (four gold) and 14x World Championship medals. Through the various checkpoints on the course, the U.S. women were putting up solid splits, led by Diggins and Brennan. Brennan, who started last season with a podium result in this specific race, showed consistent times among the strong field. Then came Frida Karlsson of Sweden. 25-year-old Karlsson, coming off a competitive 2023-24 season, skied a strong race and put down split times that Diggins, Brennan, or Johaug couldn’t catch. 

At the finish line, Karlsson was the ultimate victor by 46 seconds, ahead of Johaug in second and Norway’s Astrid Oyere Slind in third. Diggins, whose summer training focused on classic skiing, put up a seventh-place time to secure her first top 10 of the World Cup season. Brennan was eight seconds behind Diggins, putting up a ninth-place result, notching another top 10 to her strong results list. As veterans of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, with  331 career World Cup starts for Diggins and 247 for Brennan, today's results further solidify their competitiveness on the world stage. For the team, with Diggins and Brennan in the top 10, Laukli followed in 31st, Sonnesyn in 48th, Kern 49th, Palmer-Leger 56th, and Brewster 57th. 

“Today felt like a decent start to the season,” said Brennan. “I felt strong but didn’t quite have the pace I knew I needed to compete with the top. There were no major red flags, so I am taking it as a good place to start, move forward, and work toward the rest of the season!” 

“I was stoked on my classic skiing today,” Diggins said. “I think this was the first time in my career that I could kick up the entire north hill on my first lap - definitely not on my second lap because I went out really hard and was tired! But i was honestly really happy with today and really excited for the rest of the season.” 

Men’s Turn in Ruka
The snow began to fall harder for the men, the tracks became more slick, and the kick wax became even more critical for a good race. For the Americans, Ogden was out at the start first. Ogden, whose 2023-24 season was cut short due to illness, put together a strong summer of training, leading him to be more than ready to get back to competing - evidenced by his smile on the start line and ripping tempo out of the gate. Ogden was followed by teammate McMullen and Schumacher, who threw down solid times through the checkpoints. 

More on Ogden being back, “I certainly missed the people most. Being back with everyone on the U.S. team and beyond is so much fun. I missed chumming with the whole World Cup squad, and cross country skiing is a small community. Sometimes, I don’t appreciate how awesome everyone from all the nations is until I have to leave them for a while. Congratulating everyone after the races and getting fired up is just so fun.”

Livo Niskanen of Finland was putting on a clinic for his hometown crowd, leading the charge through the checkpoints. Niskanen stood atop the podium, Amundsen took second place, and Nyenget third. Schumacher put together a strong race for the Americans, adding another top 20 with his 18th place result to his resume, and is going into tomorrow’s classic sprint on the right foot. The U.S. men put three in the top 30, including Ogden in 29th and McMullen in 30th. Ketterson was 36th, Wonders 46th, and Earnhart 53rd. 

Next is the classic sprint tomorrow, Nov. 30th, with qualifications kicking off at 3:00 AM ET and heats/finals at 5:30 a.m. ET. Watch LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live. 

RESULTS
Women
Men