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The women’s freestyle race in Falun was an incredibly exciting matchup between Jessica Diggins and Therese Johaug. The Norwegian had a slight lead just under a kilometer before the finish, but the American finished sharper and won the race.
When the World Cup begins in a few weeks, the only interval start distance for the ladies is 10 kilometers freestyle, the same distance they covered today in Falun.
Given today’s results, we have an exciting competition to look forward to in Oberstdorf. Jessica Diggins and Therese Johaug are supposed to be the big favorites in the distance and today’s race was a fierce duel between the runners.
Diggins started the race strong and had an eight-second lead after 6.3 kilometers, but on the final lap Johaug used the race to gain an advantage.
He had Diggin’s intervals to continue, and with just over two miles remaining, a split tenth in favor of Johaug.
“This is crazy”
In the last half time, 900 meters from the end, Johaug led by 1.1 seconds, but towards the Lugnet ski stadium, it was Diggins who finished better. Johaug couldn’t match Diggin’s time and the American won by 2.1 seconds.
– This is crazy and I really can’t believe it. If I could chart a perfect course for myself, this would be it. It was cold and I had perfect skis, and the descent was fun.
– It almost felt like a video game and I had to think about how I would go around the curves. It was incredibly fun and in this cold weather I felt like I could push all the time, Diggins said in his win interview.
The victory was the tenth in the World Cup race for Jessica Diggins, who at the same time extended her lead in the overall cup.
Like the men, the Finns also seemed to ski worse than the competition. The two most defined cards, Kerttu Niskanen and Krista Pärmäkoski, lost by almost a minute and a half against Diggins.
Niskanen finished 16th, while Pärmäkoski had to settle for 18th place in the race. Veteran Riitta-Liisa Roponen also took the World Cup points when she finished 23rd.
Result, 10 kilometers freestyle:
1. Jessica Diggins United States 23.35.9
2. Therese Johaug NOR +2.1
3. Ebba Andersson SWE +14.6
4. Ragnhild Make NOR +40.6
5. Heidi Weng NOR +41.1
6. Helene Marie Fossesholm NOR +45.5
7. Tiril Udnes Weng NOR +46.5
8. Rosie Brennan United States +59.1
9. Katerina Razymova CZE +1.01.2
10. Sadie Maubet Bjornsen United States +1.01.5
——————–
16. Kerttu Niskanen FIN +1.28.9
18. Krista Pärmäkoski FIN +1.31.2
23. Riitta-Liisa Roponen FIN +1.48.6
42. Laura Mononen END +2.19.8
52. Jasmi Joensuu END +2.49.8
62. Anne Kyllönen END +3.12.2
