Industry News
U.S. cross country skier Jessie Diggins has secured her 19th World Cup in the 20km skating discipline at the World Cup in Goms, Switzerland. Diggins beat Sweden’s Frida Karlsson by 0.6 seconds in a breathtaking sprint on the last few meters of the 20km race. Third place went to Switzerland’s Nadine Fähndrich, while Diggins’ teammates Sophia Laukli and Rosie Brennan finished in impressive fifth and seventh, respectively.
“I forgot to set an alarm so I almost overslept and missed the race so I’m really glad I woke up on time.”
— Jessie Diggins
Diggins dominated the mass-start format race from the onset. In a field of 58 women, the American skier pushed to the front of the field and led the pack for the majority of the race, with Brennan and Laukli close behind her most of the time. Laukli had crashed early on but managed to regain her position in the leader’s pack.
The race at Goms consisted of four laps of the 5km course in the picturesque Swiss mountains, which features several difficult uphills and winding downhills, which suits the Americans. “I liked all the winding downhill, that was very fun. I’m glad to have kept it together and skied with better tactics today,” Diggins said after the race.
“Today’s race was hectic and stressful – this course is just so fast. But, it was awesome to have three of us in the top 10, it really shows that we’re coming back into form, and we just have a really strong skate squad, and it’s exciting to carry this momentum as we go into the North American World Cups!”
— Rosie Brennan
The victory marks Diggins’ 57th World Cup podium and 19th World Cup victory, as well as the fifth victory of the 23/24 World Cup season. Diggins leads the overall cross country standings by 283 points ahead of Sweden’s Linn Svahn.
In the men’s race, Alaska’s Gus Schumacher and Scott Patterson finished in 14th and 18th place respectively — a solid result in a field of 76 of the world’s best cross country skiers.
“My strategy was to try to relax in the pack as long as possible so I could have the energy to move up when it got hard. Also, I wanted to ski the downhills well to take places where it was a bit easier. Honestly, I struggled to maintain a good position in the first couple of laps, so that part didn’t go super well, but I had energy when it started to string out and made those said “money moves” into some bonus points on lap three. Right after that, the pace got real and I had to dig to keep skiing. Happy with it! Skis were good and my body was responsive for almost all the race and I’m stoked to be back in distance top 15.”
— Gus Schumacher
The Cross Country World Cup will continue in North America, on February 9 in Canmore, Canada, before moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 17.
