Kuusamo, Finland –Another strong early season performance Sunday by the U.S. Ski Team’s Kikkan Randall put the Anchorage, Alaska resident in sixth place in the Ruka Triple mini stage race in Kuusamo. Randall was 16th fastest in the finale pursuit to finish strongly among the powerhouse athletes of the sport in the three-day event, also keeping her in sixth place in the FIS Cross Country World Cup standings after four races. Norway’s Marit Bjoergen continued her unbeaten streak this season in taking the women’s title.

Andover, N.H.’s Kris Freeman was the top American man in 43rd behind Norwegian Petter Northug, who won Sunday’s men’s title.

Randall came into the final 10k classic pursuit in fifth place and dropped only one spot to take sixth overall in the three-day Ruka Triple. She was the 16th fastest skier on Sunday. Teammate Holly Brooks, also of Anchorage, skied up from 28th to finish in 22nd, while Vermont’s Liz Stephen also skied up, from 48th to 35th.

“I’m feeling super psyched and satisfied with my Ruka mini-tour this weekend. Today was definitely a hard race,” said Randall. “I ended up skiing most of the race by myself and had to hold off a hard charging pack in the last 2k. I was really happy to hold on to 6th place. My skis were great. My body was feeling a little tired after the previous two days but I was still able to put up a good fight.

“Last year I was happy to finish in the top 20 here, so to be 6th today is a real breakthrough for me.”

“It was obviously a breakthrough weekend for Kikkan and for the women in general,” added the U.S. Ski Team Head Cross Country Coach, Chris Glover. “Kikkan skied super tough to only drop one place today and to hold off charges coming from behind from Saarinen and company.

“Another personal best for Holly (Brooks) and best classic World Cup finish. Also had personal best World Cup classic distance results from Liz (Stephen) and Ida (Sargent) in 36th and 37th. We had great skis.

“The men had an up and down day,” Glover admitted. “Kris (Freeman) was disappointed in his race and felt like he selected the wrong pair of skis. Noah Hoffman had the USA’s fastest race of the day and skied with a lot more energy than he did yesterday. Andy Newell also had a much better day and both he and Noah moved up about 20 places in the standings.”

The Cross Country Skiing World Cup is now scheduled to head to Central Europe for weekend sprints in Duesseldorf, Germany.