On the second day of racing in Oberhof, Germany, the historic venue of the 1931 FIS World Ski Championships, Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan secured another round of top-10 results in sixth and 10th, respectively, in the challenging 20k classic mass start event.

In contrast to the gloomy conditions witnessed during Friday's sprint, the sun illuminated the Oberhof venue, providing a crisp and fast course for the athletes. The men started the day's races, with 66 competitors taking off onto a six-lap technical and demanding course.

The 20k race presented steep descents leading into technical corners, resulting in minor chaos in the men's race—American Scott Patterson broke a pole but managed to ski back into contention quickly after. Navigating the right track and executing a tactical race became crucial for athletes to keep in the race. Among the U.S. male competitors—Zak Ketterson, JC Schoonmaker, Gus Schumacher, Peter Wolter and Patterson—Ketterson led the team, finishing 40th, closely followed by Schumacher in 44th.

It was Schumacher's first race back since the Tour de Ski was cut short due to sickness. "I felt surprisingly good after sickness," he said. "My muscles feel sharp and my breathing is feeling strong, which I’m super encouraged by. Maybe not quite where I was before it, but that doesn’t feel far off."

In the women's race, the 20k classic differed significantly in terms of weather compared to the previous 20k classic in Davos, Switzerland, where Brennan and Diggins clinched second and third positions on the podium.

Today's race was characterized by pivotal moments, with different leaders emerging nearly every lap. Whether it was a trio of Swedish skiers, Kerttu Nikkanen of Finland, local skier Victoria Carl, or Diggins and Brennan themselves, predicting the leader through the laps was unpredictable. The race was marked by strategic approaches, made evident in the reluctance to lead at various course sections, where the lead pack would often come to a standstill, waiting for someone to take charge.

"Today was really interesting," said Diggins when asked about what her race strategy. "It just seemed like the kind of course that was pretty tricky for people to ski away. My strategy ended up going for the bonus points. But what I'm most proud of today was playing to my strengths, skiing calm, finding my way through when I needed to and hanging tough all the way through to the finish."

As the laps progressed and lap six approached, Diggins and Brennan were in contention for the podium, competing alongside the eventual winner, Frida Karlsson of Sweden, and second place finisher Germany's Katharina Hennig. Despite their efforts falling short of a podium finish, both American skiers secured positions in the top 10, adding critical points to their overall standings. Sophia Laukli continued her strong season with a 28th place finish, while Julia Kern closely followed in 33rd.

Looking ahead to tomorrow's 4x7.5k relay, Diggins maintains her lead in the overall World Cup standings, boasting a 279-point advantage over the second-placed Linn Svahn of Sweden. Rosie Brennan sits the third position, trailing Diggins by 388 points.

Don't miss the excitement of the 4.7x5k team relay tomorrow on skiandsnowboard.live, with the women's race starting at 4:50 a.m. ET and the men's race at 7:10 a.m. ET.

RESULTS
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH
4:50 a.m. ET - women's 4x7.5k relay, Oberhof, Germany - skiandsnowboard.live
7:10 a.m. ET - men's 4x7.5k relay, Oberhof, Germany - skiandsnowboard.live

The Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team is back in Oberhof, Germany, for the first time since 2013 and the team is starting off on the right foot, with all but one athlete advancing through to the classic sprint heats. Ben Ogden led the day in sixth place, followed by Jessie Diggins in ninth and Kevin Bolger in 12th.

Coming off a hot Tour de Ski, where Diggins took home the overall crown, Sophia Laukli secured her first World Cup victory, Ben Ogden achieved his career-first podium and several athletes set personal bests, the momentum was strong going into the next trio of races. Before today's race, the entire team took a couple of days to recover and put in some hours of rest, but you could tell all the athletes from around the world were ready to click into their race skis once again.

On soft snow, under overcast skies and on a technical sprint course featuring tight turns and fast uphill kickers, all Americans named to the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team made it through to the sprint heats—a feat not easily accomplished and not seen in recent history. The start list included five women and four men, including World Cup overall leader Jessie Diggins, Rosie Brennan, Julia Kern, Sammy Smith, and Erin Blanco from Bridger Ski Foundation, who recorded her first-ever World Cup start. For the men, the sickness had been beaten, and Ben Ogden was back on the start line alongside JC Schoonmaker, Zak Ketterson and Kevin Bolger.

In the first round of sprint racing, the top 30 times would be the cutoff for who makes it to the sprint rounds. This time, eight of the nine athletes advanced, with Blanco just a few seconds from making the cut. Ogden secured the third spot in the qualifiers, giving him confidence going into the next lap around the sprint course, while Diggins and Brennan secured the fourth and fifth positions, just four seconds behind the fastest qualifying time set by Sweden's Jonna Sundling.

Moving into the heats, with six athletes per heat and only the top two securing a place in the semis, along with two lucky losers (the fastest third-place time from two athletes), only Diggins, Ogden and Bolger advanced through the next round of racing.

"It's really nice to be racing again," said Diggins post-race. "It was so cool to have eight of us into the heats, and it is some fun momentum to carry into the rest of this racing period."

Going into the quarterfinal heat, it was all about positioning and skiing a smart race to punch your ticket to the semis. Brennan, Diggins, Kern and Smith represented the U.S. women, with Diggins being the sole athlete to advance based on finishing within the top two in her round. Even without advancing, all the women secured an overall top-30 result on the day—a step in the right direction in adding crucial World Cup points to their overall standing.

In the end, the Swedish team swept the podium, with Linn Svahn taking home her 13th World Cup victory. Svahn is currently sitting second in the overall standings, with Diggins securely in first. Alongside Diggins' ninth place, Brennan finished 21st, Kern 27th, and Smith 28th.

For the men, as the moved into the men's finals, there was already a clear upset - Norway's Johannes Hoseflot Klaebo did not advance through to the finals. Klaebo had been on the podium in every single sprint race since 2018 and with today's result, it clearly shows the depth of the men's field and emphasizes that in cross country ski racing, anything can happen.

For the U.S., Ogden punched his ticket to the final and lined up on the line with four Norwegians and one Swedish athlete. Regardless of the place Ogden skied to in the end, he was splitting up the Scandinavian sweep in the process.

In the final, Ogden quickly got off the line, sitting comfortably behind the sea of red (Norway). Into the technical, nearly 180-degree turn, Ogden made a push to secure himself a safer position going into the uphill. With the classic 'Benny Shuffle,' he pushed the pace alongside Norway and Sweden into the finishing straight. Ogden crossed the line in sixth and was all smiles in the finish pen. Norway swept the podium, with Erik Valnes taking home the victory. Bolger just missed the top 10 in 12th, Ketterson 16th and Schoonmaker 24th.

"It feels good to put down a good race today and I'm glad how my body responded post-sickness and I'm psyched for the races to come," said Ogden. 

Tomorrow, the team is back to racing, with a 20k mass start looming. Watch LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live, with men kicking off the line at 4:25 a.m. ET.

RESULTS
Men
Women

 

On a historic day for the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team at the final stage of the Tour de Ski, Jessie Diggins clinched her second overall Tour de Ski victory and Sophia Laukli won her first ever World Cup on the famed Alpe Cermis hill climb and is now the youngest American to ever win a cross country individual World Cup. 

After six stages of races, the athletes were drained, but the last six athletes on the Stifel U.S. Ski Team left in the stage race lined up on the start line to finish out the 2023-24 Tour de Ski. The final stage was a mass start, where all the athletes left in the tour are off the line at once. Off the start line, everyone took a lap around the previous day's 2.5k course, then on a windy path to the start of the infamous climb, which concludes with 4 kilometers straight up an alpine ski mountain. The hill has an average gradient of nearly 12% and peaks with a gradient of 28%.

Diggins led the overall by 43 seconds after the last stage in Val di Fiemme, Italy, and attacked, but two-time Tour de Ski winner Heidi Weng of Norway threatened and pushed the pace. Diggins used everything she had to maintain her overall lead and cross the finish line in sixth, winning the overall by 31.6 seconds. Weng was second in the overall while Kertuu Niskanen of Finland finished third.

But it was Laukli who had the glory of the World Cup stage win. Even with a fall, she powered past her competitors to win easily—barely looking winded as she crossed the finish line. Laukli, this summer’s winner of the overall Golden Trail World Series trail running series, excels at hill climbs and had her first podium in 2023 at the same venue. It is the first time an American has won the Final Climb. 

“I don’t think I’ve let it fully sink in,” said Laukli. “It feels insanely good. It’s super fun to have my first victory, but also have one of the best races of my life—feelings-wise and tactics-wise. Obviously I’ve had the most success in this race, but it’s just really motivating for the rest of the season and future seasons—and in more than just the hill climb. I don’t think I could be more motivated for skiing in general.” 

Behind Laukli, Weng was second and Delphine Claudel of France third. On the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, Rosie Brennan was 12th in the climb and Sammy Smith was 23rd. Brennan also finished 12th in the overall standings, while Laukli was 14th and Smith 26th. 

On the men’s side, Zanden McMullen was 36th in the hill climb and Scott Patterson was 42nd.

Jules Lapierre of France won the stage, with Friedrich Moch of Germany second and Hugo Lapalus of France third. Harald Oestberg Amundsen of Norway won the overall Tour de Ski with Friedrich Moch of Germany in second and Lapalus in third. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

OVERALL TOUR DE SKI RESULTS
Women
Men

On the second to last race of the Tour de Ski, Jessie Diggins continued her streak of top-10 results with an eighth place finish, giving her the necessary points and time to maintain her commanding lead in the Tour de Ski overall standings. Alongside Diggins in the top 30 was Rosie Brennan in 12th, Sophia Laukli 17th and Sammy Smith in 26th. Scott Patterson was 27th. Diggins now leads the overall by 43 seconds, ahead of Sweden's Joanna Sundling going into tomorrow's final stage. 

On a remarkably bad weather day in Val di Fiemme, Italy, where rain, snow and sleet made for challenging wax conditions and overall tricky weather to race in, the athletes pushed through, with the final race looming in their minds. 

With a 15k mass start on the line, Diggins went into the race with lingering pain due to her crash in the 20k classic in Davos, Switzerland just two days prior.

"I did get pretty hurt in that crash, so I'm in pain," said Diggins, post-race. "I raced today and pushed through it. I'm really proud of myself for being able to ignore it the best I could and focus on the race - and now i'm focused on recovery." 

Off the line, the pack trudged through the classic tracks, with six laps of a hilly 2.5k loop looming. Through each lap, Diggins, Brennan and Laukli traded off positions in the lead pack, often working together to find positioning, with 18-year-old Smith continuing her strong skiing and keeping a solid pace throughout the entire 15k. 

On the final lap, movement was finally happening and going into the last hill, Diggins, Brennan and Laukli were all within the chase pack. On the final stretch, Sweden's Linn Svahn took the overall win, with Diggins in the top 10 and Brennan, Laukli and Smith not far behind.

"It was wet," said Brennan, laughing post-race. "It was very challenging conditions, and sometimes skis worked, sometimes they didn't. It was a mental battle the whole way through but I'm happy that I stayed in the front the whole time and fought the whole way."

For the men, Patterson and Zanden McMullen represented the remaining Stifel U.S. Ski Team men's team and crossed the line in 27th and 31st, respectively. Norway's Erik Valnes ultimately took the victory. Going into stage seven, Patterson sits 20th in the Tour de Ski overall standings. 

Tomorrow, the highly anticipated Final Climb is finally here, a brutal race that takes athletes once around the 2.5k course at Val di Fiemme then up the Alpe de Cermis alpine ski hill - where at points athletes are skiing up a 28% grade. In last year's final climb, Sophia Laukli, now commonly referred to as the "Uphill Queen" nabbed her first-ever podium in the event, crossing the line in third. This year, she is considered the favorite in the event.  

RESULTS
Women
Men

TOUR DE SKI OVERALL RESULTS 
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, Jan. 7
8:30 a.m. ET - men's 10k skate - skiandsnowboard.live
9:45 a.m. ET - women's 10k skate - skiandsnowboard.live

In what many would say was one of the most eventful races in World Cup cross country skiing history, the race could have been anyone’s up until the last kilometer. At the end of the day, two Americans were on the podium - Rosie Brennan in second and Jessie Diggins in third. Every single starting American  landed in the top 30. 

With snow accumulating quickly, it made for a complicated kick wax situation, but on the start line, all athletes pushed on the two-lap 20k course. With the high altitude of Davos and limited visibility because of the snow, it made for a fascinating race that kept the fans on the edge of their seat until the bitter end.

Racers were seeded at the start according to their qualifying times in Wednesday’s sprint – minus the bonus time accumulated from the final results, which meant Diggins was not leading off the line. Yet, fresh off a podium result in the skate sprint the night before, Diggins was once again back in the top three - notching her 54th career World Cup podium and fourth podium of the Tour de Ski in the process. Brennan was also back on the podium in second, putting a gutsy and tactical race together. It was Brennan's 11th career podium, and nearly remade the Tour de Ski race from a year ago when Brennan and Diggins were on the podium together in the 20k skate.

In the first lap, the pack was tight together through the long gradual climbs, with limited spots that allowed movement from the line. Due to the challenging wax conditions, all countries were trying something different - some using kick wax and some not - but in the end, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes put all the pieces together to make it work. At the finish, Brennan was just 0.8 seconds back with Diggins overcoming an early fall and pushing through the pain to cross the line in third.

Sophia Laukli, Novie McCabe and Sammy Smith were also in the top 30, led by McCabe in 19th, Laukli in 25th and Smith in 28th, respectively.

For the men, the race seemed like it was on an entirely different day. With the sun shining, the temperatures consistently climbing, making it the Davos World Cup scene so many fans have come to love.

Scott Patterson and Zanden McMullen were the only ones to kick off the start line. Over the two laps, with endless movement and variable speeds, this race proved to be just as exciting as the women’s just an hour before. With strong double pole, tactical moves on the steep climbs, Patterson crossed the line first in 25th with McMullen not far behind in 28th.

Looking ahead to the last two stages in Val di Fiemme, Diggins continues to lead the overall, putting herself in a solid position going into the final two races, with Brennan back in the top 10.

The Tour de Ski now packs up for Val di Fiemme, Italy for two final races, starting with a 15k classic mass start.

RESULTS
Women
Men

TOUR DE SKI OVERALL STANDINGS
Women
Men

The Tour de Ski continued today with an exciting skate sprint in Davos, Switzerland. Jessie Diggins claimed her spot on the podium for the third time this tour, finishing in third place, while Gus Schumacher was just off the podium in fourth - a career-best result. Diggins maintains her lead in the overall standings, while Schumacher rose to fourth place overall.

The first stage in Davos and the fourth stage overall kicked off with more ski racing, featuring a lively skate sprint in the sunny mountain town with fans filling the sprint course to cheer. In the qualifier round, seven Americans, including Diggins, Sammy Smith, Julia Kern, Rosie Brennan, Zanden McMullen, Schumacher and Kevin Bolger, advanced to the heats. Notably, it was McMullen's first time qualifying for the heats in his World Cup career.

The challenging course included a long approach to a steep hill, a fast downhill stretch and a sharp, technical right-hand turn. The strategy was clear – go hard from the start and maintain the effort until crossing the finish line.

Into the quarterfinal heats, where to advance, athletes must be top two in their heat, or hold one of the two third fastest times (commonly referred to as the “lucky loser”), Diggins won her heat, Kern was second, and Schumacher became the lucky loser to secure a place in the semis. Brennan, Smith, Bolger and McMullen did not advance.

In the semifinals, Diggins once again won her heat and Schumacher put the hammer down to post a fast time to secure the lucky loser position again and punch his ticket to his first-ever final sprint round.

As the sun set over the mountains, the final race unfolded with USA staff lining the finish stretch with the stadium lights illuminating the course and flame-throwing pyrotechnics decorating the stadium. Diggins showcased tactical moves, up and down the course and ultimately finished third behind Sweden's Linn Svahn and Norway's Kristine Skistad. For the men, Schumacher finished fourth, securing his career-best result in the process. His previous top sprint result was 18th place. 

Smith and McMullen also had career-best results, finishing in 22nd and 25th, respectively.

The Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team continues to excel, thanks to the athletes' incredible efforts and the dedicated staff working behind the scenes. The team looks forward to the 20k classic pursuit Thursday in Davos before heading to Val di Fiemme, Italy for the final two stages of the 2024 Tour de Ski. Heading into stage five with a podium in every stage so far, the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team is establishing itself as the team to beat.

RESULTS
Women
Men

TOUR DE SKI OVERALL STANDINGS
Women
Men

On the third stage of the 2023-24 Tour de Ski, Jessie Diggins clinched her 17th career World Cup victory in the 20k pursuit, maintaining her firm grip on the overall Tour de Ski standings. Meanwhile, Gus Schumacher secured his first top 10 result of the season to solidify his 10th place position in the overall Tour de Ski standings. Each of the first three Tour stages in Toblach, Italy featured a Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athlete on the podium, as the Tour moves on to Davos, Switzerland.

Despite the appearance of a mass start, a pursuit race can come across as complicated from the outside. A pursuit-style race in the Tour de Ski means that those who are leading the overall standings are off the start line first and are “pursued” by those in second place, third place and so on. The first person to cross the finish line at the end wins. The ‘time of day’ result reflects the athlete’s overall speed and is calculated separately than the overall result.

Navigating the challenging five-lap course on slow, wet snow, the racers put the hammer down and showed impressive skiing at each point on the course. The men were on the snow first, with Ben Ogden, fresh off his inaugural podium in the skate sprint, starting third based on his overall Tour ranking. However, Schumacher was the top American for the men and consistently posted top-10 times at each marker, elevating his race in the challenging conditions. His chip time placed him sixth overall in the time of day standings, but he crossed the line in 10th place, adding his first top 10 of the season to his resume. Accompanying him, Scott Patterson secured 28th overall with an impressive 20th in the time of day standings, followed by Zanden McMullen in 48th, Ogden in 63rd, and Kevin Bolger in 65th. 

Diggins, donning the coveted overall leader bib for the pursuit, started seven seconds ahead of the second place athlete, Victoria Karl of Germany. Diggins embarked on the course with a clear mission to widen the gap. Through the splits, Diggins kept on it, leading the race at every turn. Skiing the entire 20k by herself, Diggins had to dig deep and put together a race without any competitors around her. Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athletes Rosie Brennan, Sophia Laukli, Novie McCabe, Sammy Smith and Julia Kern also raced, with Laukli putting together a strong race—highlighting by her winning the ninth fastest time of the day, showcasing her skill in longer distances skate races. Brennan finished 15th, Laukli 21st, McCabe 27th, Kern 45th and Smith 47th.

As the final racer crossed the line, the victory belonged to Diggins, securing her second win in the initial three stages of the Tour and fortifying her leadership in the overall rankings as the race heads to Davos, Switzerland. Stage four features another skate sprint on Jan. 3.

RESULTS
Women's pursuit
Men's pursuit

TOUR DE SKI OVERALL RESULTS
Women
Men

The momentum kept on moving for the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in the second stage of the Tour de Ski with Jessie Diggins clinching the podium in third place in Toblach, Italy. Rosie Brennan was just off the podium in fourth place and Ben Ogden was ninth in the 10k classic.

It was Diggins' 52nd career podium and fifth individual podium of the 2023-24 season, and she now officially leads the Tour de Ski overall standings by seven seconds going into Monday's 20k skate pursuit. Right in the fight with Diggins was Brennan, who crossed the line in fourth place, adding another top-five result to her stellar 2023-24 resume.

For the men, Ogden led the team in ninth place after his podium finish on Saturday and now is the overall points leader for the Tour de Ski points standing - celebrated after the conclusion of the men's race with Ogden doing a backflip off the podium wearing the yellow bib. He is also third in the chase for the Tour de Ski overall. Off the start line, he was posting positive splits and never ventured out of the top 10, and is in a good place entering the third stage. Gus Schumacher also skied a strong race and finished in 15th, another strong result for the Alaskan. 

In stage two of seven, athletes attacked a fast, icy and challenging 10k classic. With 91 starters for the men and 66 for the women, the field was stacked in Toblach. With women out of the gate first on the two-lap course that featured steep uphills and fast downhills, each athlete pushed to end the year 2023 on a good note with top results. 

In the women's race, Novie McCabe was the first American out for the interval start format. Following McCabe was Sophia Laukli, Brennan, Sammy Smith, Diggins and Julia Kern. Through the splits, Brennan and Diggins were in the fighting position for podiums throughout the entire race, with Brennan leading at 2.1k, 3k, 5k, 8k time checks. Brennan's result adds to her stellar 2023-24 season, where she has only ventured out of the top-10 twice. 

"I wanted to ski with conviction today and go out and see what was possible, so I tried to set a good pace from the beginning and hold on," said Brennan, post race. "I did that relatively well, I lost some time at the end, but sometimes that the way it works! But I am really proud about how I was skiing today and am happy to have a stronger race than yesterday."

At the end, Diggins pushed into another gear to land on the podium, with Brennan just seconds out of the top three. 

"Today was really cool to get to share my day with my family. I heard them out on the course and that was amazing to have them there in person, as they don't get to see many races live," said Diggins. "Also, my skis were amazing again today. I mean, this is a team sport, not an individual sport; it's a team effort and you can't succeed in this sport without competitive skis and our techs are working so hard and our success today was in a big part because of them. I'm just really grateful and really proud about today!"

McCabe scored top-30 World Cup points in 29th. Laukli took 39th, Smith 52nd and Kern 59th. 

Rounding out the men, Scott Patterson was 40th, Zanden McMullen 50th and Kevin Bolger 72nd. 

On Monday, the journey in Toblach ends with the 20k pursuit skate race, with men kicking off the line at 4:00 a.m. ET and women at 6:30 a.m. ET. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

TOUR DE SKI OVERALL RESULTS
Women
Men

On the first stage of the 2023-24 Tour de Ski, under the sunset over the Dolomites mountain range, Ben Ogden went on to secure his first career podium in the Toblach skate sprint.

Alongside Ogden, Jessie Diggins finished in the top 10 in ninth place.

The Tour de Ski has officially started, with hundreds of athletes lining up at the start line to kick off the first stage with a skate sprint in the city of Toblach, Italy. As the Tour de Ski rules state, an athlete is eliminated from the Tour if they do not start a race, and in today's sprint, the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team showed up strong, with six Americans advancing to the sprint heats, a feat not easily done. 

Today was Ogden's day. Coming off a strong period one in Scandinavia, Ogden was restless to get the Tour started, starting off with his preferred race style - a sprint. In the qualification round, he was in a good position, crossing the line in eighth place. Alongside him going into the heats were teammates Kevin Bolger and Gus Schumacher. 

Into the rounds, Ogden kept the momentum going all the way through to the final. Towards the end of the heats, the snow was getting choppier and messier by the second, but that did not stop Ogden from pushing it around every corner, each downhill and up the steep uphills (even the one that goes over a building) to snag third place.

"This was really fun. I just feel like I was able to execute every heat and it worked well for me. I couldn't believe I was in that position at the finish line and I just thought to myself that I had what it takes to just land on the podium," Ogden said, seconds after spraying his celebratory champagne over his whole team. "This is a crazy feeling. A fantastic race to start the tour after a hard summer and a hectic start to the season. I'm really proud of myself for today."

Ogden's hard summer references his father John Ogden, who passed away after a decade-long battle with cancer. John Ogden was beloved in the cross country world, having coached for many years and passionately cheered on his children - Ben and former U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athlete Katharine - as they raced throughout their careers.

Ogden had shown his speed last season on the World Cup, securing six top-10 results and coming away from the season with the U23 green bib, distinguishing him as the fastest male athlete under the age of 23 on the circuit. This season, he was just off the podium in fourth place in Östersund, while his teammate JC Schoonmaker became the first American man to step on a World Cup podium since 2017. With Ogden's podium in Toblach, it marks the first time two different American men have been on the podium in the same season since 1983 (Tim Caldwell and Bill Koch).

Rounding out the men's race, Schumacher and Bolger did not punch their ticket to the final, but it was a highlight for Schumacher, who walked away with the best sprint result of his career in 18th. Bolger was 24th.

For the women, Diggins led the way, landing in the top 10 in ninth place, with teammate Julia Kern right behind in 11th. Rosie Brennan was 27th. In the qualifications, Diggins qualified second, Kern was sixth and Brennan 14th. The day came to a close for Brennan in the quarterfinals, but her focus is now on her favorite race, the 10k classic. For the World Cup overall leader Diggins, a top 10 is a race to celebrate and for Kern, an 11th is added to her impressive World Cup resume. 

Sammy Smith, Novie McCabe, Sophia Laukli, Zanden McMullen and Scott Patterson did not qualify through to the heats, and will now look to Sunday's race.

Tomorrow, the team is back in Toblach for the second stage of the Tour, the 10k classic. Watch LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live, with women starting at 6:15 a.m. ET and men at 9 a.m. ET. 

RESULTS
Women's sprint
Men's sprint