Gaellivare, Sweden – Minnesota’s Jessie Diggins raced her way to a win in a 1.2k classic sprint race Saturday while Vermont’s Sophie Caldwell took second on the tough tracks of Hellner Stadium in Gaellivare. For the men, Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov was the overall winner, finishing just ahead of Andy Newell, of Shaftsbury, Vt., who earned a second place finish in the 1.4k classic sprint.
“I was really happy with today’s race!” said an enthusiastic Diggins. “The techs and coaches did a great job and I’m really happy with how well everything worked out – the testing, the race prep, the training leading into today’s race. I feel like my body is in a good place and I’m super excited to start the World Cup races next weekend in Kuusamo!”
The FIS races were a tune-up for the World Cup opener in Finland next week.
“We are very happy with our start to the season, added U.S. women’s coach Matt Whitcomb. “Week one is always a wildcard with some athletes feeling great and others still trying to adjust. To take three of six podiums is fun regardless of the race, and to do it with some strong World Cup skiers here – especially in the men’s field, gives us confidence. The important thing is that we had three skiers still skiing exceptionally well in the final.
“Today was the best classic sprint result we’ve ever seen out of Jessie, so Kuusamo will be exciting. I have a lot of confidence in the way she is skiing right now, and to see her hit full-gas in the finish stretch was awesome. For Andy, he gave up a gap to Ustiugov out of the start and up the first climb, but was quickly tracking him down on the final climb and chased his tails into the finish. Today is a big boost for the team.”
OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Cross-Country Skiing
FIS Cross-Country Skiing
Gaellivare, Sweden – Nov. 21, 2015
Women’s 1.2K Classic Sprint
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation |
| 1 | 2 | DIGGINS Jessica | 1991 | USA |
| 2 | 1 | CALDWELL Sophie | 1990 | USA |
| 3 | 4 | GROHOVA Karolina | 1990 | CZE |
| 4 | 6 | NOVAKOVA Petra | 1993 | CZE |
| 5 | 3 | SVENDSEN Anna | 1990 | NOR |
| 6 | 5 | NISHIKAWA Emily | 1989 | CAN |
| 7 | 7 | GREGG Caitlin | 1980 | USA |
| 8 | 8 | LUNDKVIST Helena | 1994 | SWE |
| 9 | 9 | STEPHEN Elizabeth | 1987 | USA |
| 10 | 10 | LEE Chae-won | 1981 | KOR |
Men’s 1.4K Classic Sprint
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation |
| 1 | 201 | USTIUGOV Sergey | 1992 | RUS |
| 2 | 202 | NEWELL Andrew | 1983 | USA |
| 3 | 203 | BELOV Evgeniy | 1990 | RUS |
| 4 | 207 | STAREGA Maciej | 1990 | POL |
| 5 | 205 | VOLZHENTSEV Stanislav | 1985 | RUS |
| 6 | 214 | HAEGGSTROEM Johan | 1992 | SWE |
| 7 | 209 | HARVEY Alex | 1988 | CAN |
| 8 | 206 | BJORNSEN Erik | 1991 | USA |
| 9 | 211 | KERSHAW Devon | 1982 | CAN |
| 10 | 218 | VALJAS Len | 1988 | CAN |