In the end, Diggins and Kern would deliver the first- and second-fastest splits at nearly every check point of the final 15 kilometers. It would’ve been great to hear their conversation on the race course: did they reminisce about seasons past and races remembered? Or were they making plans for training dates and racing duels […]
In the end, Diggins and Kern would deliver the first- and second-fastest splits at nearly every check point of the final 15 kilometers. It would’ve been great to hear their conversation on the race course: did they reminisce about seasons past and races remembered? Or were they making plans for training dates and racing duels in the future? Ultimately, they sorted things out over the final kilometers of this 40 k Mass Start, with Diggins turning on the jets at around 37 kilometers to solo in for a 14 second win in this latest round of their friendly rivalry. Laven would complete her solo mission to claim a hard-earned third.This article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers. If you would like to see more articles like this one, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription.
And so skiers found themselves at one last starting line in Lake Placid: one last ski marathon, one last high-speed tour of the countryside, one last opportunity to race cross country toward glory.
Spring racing can be brutal: everyone’s gunning to knock off the top stars, many of whom are running on fumes at the end of a seemingly endless season of travel and competition. But racing at home is one of the responsibilities that many of those stars continue to take seriously. It can be an arduous responsibility—even the stars of Team Norway went home to participate in spring championships where World Cup Champions, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and Simen Hegstad Krueger, found themselves fourth and sixth, respectively, in their National Championship 10 k. One thing appears obvious: cross-country ski racing is always hard, no matter who you race against.
Women’s National Championship 40 k Classic RESULTS
Men’s 40 k Classic Mass Start
Race splits suggested that Schumacher did most of the leading in the front group, matched consistently by Drolet, and followed by Hagenbuch. With 15 kilometers to race, the dilemma in the lead group belonged to Drolet—he was the least explosive sprinter, statistically not as likely to win in a sprint as were his breakaway companions. If Drolet hoped to win this season-ending marathon, he’d need to make a move soon. Perhaps Drolet made just such a move out on the course—one that Schumacher and Hagenbuch countered. Or Perhaps Schumacher had turned up the pace to prevent any such strategies from happening. Regardless, it was Schumacher and Hagenbuch who created a gap, detaching Drolet by 27.5 kilometers, though by 31.25 kilometers, Drolet clawed his way back to the leaders where Schumacher continued pushing the pace. But it was a final surge from Hagenbuch that would nip Schumacher at the line by less than a second. The win belonged to the Dartmouth skier while Drolet faded to third.
Men’s National Championship 40 k Classic RESULTS
For Diggins and Kern, there will be many more kilometers still to ski together, but that will be after another spring, after another autumn, when cross country ski racing returns next season.
Lots can happen during long races, and it’s not impossible to make up places or to get across gaps that had been created earlier. But it’s a supremely difficult to accomplish any such late-race jumps when skiing alone. Nonetheless, Xavier McKeever (CAN) succeeded in bridging the gap to the chase group, joining up with them by 18.75 kilometers. Still, by the 20 kilometer mark, the chasers trailed 1:27 behind Schumacher, Drolet, and Hagenbuch.
Women’s 40 k Classic Mass Start
Teammates Jessie Diggins (SMS T2) and Julia Kern (SMS T2) have spent so much time together over the years. From travel and training to start lines and podiums, these two long-time friends have skied thousands of kilometers together. Why not 40 more?
By the 10 kilometer mark, the Men’s 40 k had become a three-man affair featuring the Classic skiing prowess of Remi Drolet (SMS T2), John Steel Hagenbuch (Dartmouth), and Schumacher (APU). That trio created a rapidly expanding gap of 15 seconds over a group of chasers that included Brian Bushey (UU), Reid Goble (BSF), Michael Earnhart (APU), and Finn Sweet (UVM). A little more than a kilometer later, that gap would expand to 25 seconds, then to 52 seconds by 15 kilometers. The race was going up the trail, and the leaders showed no inclination to wait around for anyone else.
By five kilometers, the Women’s 40 k Classic had formed itself into a race among a lead group of five: Diggins (SMS T2), Julia Kern (SMS T2), Erica Laven (UU), Selma Nevin (UU), and Margie Freed (Craftsbury). But, soon after, Diggins and Kern began to pull away, at which point the remaining field began splitting into groups of twos and threes. The pace had gotten too hot at the front; the race reached an early point where few skiers were likely to enjoy the prospect of skiing the remaining 30+ kilometers alone. Strategically, it seemed smartest to group up, to conserve energy, to at least ski with company for the distance that remained. Even so, Laven continued to ski on alone, suspended in the unenviable no-man’s-land between second place and fourth place. Laven wasn’t likely to catch Diggins and Kern, but it also appeared that she wasn’t willing to slow her pace just for the chance to have some company. Laven skied on alone, her position on the podium nearly 30 lonely kilometers away.
By the halfway point, Diggins and Kern enjoyed a two minute advantage over Laven, with the rest of the field another minute+ behind and strung out all across the 518 area code. Racing 40 kilometers is a daunting challenge, and many of these skiers had never raced so far before. Surviving and thriving across so great a distance are skills that must be learned with experience. Today was delivering that sort of experience for many.
The World Cup season ended a week ago in Lahti, Finland where Jessie Diggins raced to a courageous ninth place in securing (by the narrowest of margins) the Distance World Cup Crystal Globe (to go along with her Overall Crystal Globe secured a week prior). Lahti’s 50 k Classic Mass Start definitely felt like the end of a long season, but for Diggins—and for men’s Lahti 50 k eighth place finisher, Gus Schumacher—it certainly was not. More racing remained as the stars of Team USA headed back to Lake Placid to race alongside their countrymen in SWIX SuperTour and Spring Nationals events.
