Jessie Diggins ends first weekend of FIS Cross-Country World Cup 2024/25 with Ruka mass start triumph
Diggins outsprinted Jonna Sundling to take first place in Finland with Heidi Weng third ahead of the returning Therese Johaug.
Cross-Country Skiing
Jessie Diggins ended the first weekend of the FIS Cross-Country World Cup 2024/25 in style in the 20km mass start freestyle in Ruka, Finland on Sunday (1 December).
The USA skier edged out Sweden's Jonna Sundling by three-tenths of a second with Norway's Heidi Weng rounding out the podium in third place.
Diggins had a slightly disappointing start to her overall crystal globe defence by taking seventh in Friday's 10km interval start classic. Frida Karlsson took the win ahead of Therese Johaug who was making her first World Cup start since ending her two-year retirement.
Diggins was only 29th in Saturday's sprint after finishing last in her quarter-final with Johanna Hagstroem making it back-to-back wins for Swedish skiers in Finland at the start of the new campaign.
However, Sunday saw the three-time Olympic medallist return to the top of the podium despite her losing touch 13km into proceedings as Johaug and Weng pressed on at the front. Diggins and Sundling soon reeled in the Norwegian veterans, and Diggins had enough left for a closing sprint, which sealed a 22nd individual World Cup win.
"Oh my God, it was so fun out there," Diggins told FIS after. "Last year, I froze my hand and got punched in the face. This year, I feel like I'm in a really good place and just enjoying myself.
"In the last kilometre, I was just thinking, 'Save it up, save it up,' then trying to find a line. It played well in the end."
Like Diggins, reigning men's overall World Cup champion Harald Oestberg Amundsen took the men's mass start with Jan Thomas Jenssen and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget making it a Norwegian podium sweep.
Having won both Friday's 10km classic and Saturday's sprint, Johannes Klaebo missed the race due to illness.
The cross-country skiers are heading to Lillehammer, Norway next weekend with Diggins trailing Sundling by eight points in the early overall World Cup standings.
2024/25 FIS Cross-Country World Cup - Results from 20km mass start free, Falun, Sweden (top six):
Women's
- Jessie Diggins (USA) 51:19.3
- Jonna Sundling (SWE) +0.3
- Heidi Weng (NOR) +2.5
- Therese Johaug (NOR) +4.2
- Victoria Carl (GER) +19.8
- Katharina Hennig (GER) +20.4
Men's
- Harald Oestberg Amunden (NOR) 46:04.0
- Jan Thomas Jenssen (NOR) +0.9
- Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) +1.9
- Mika Vermeulen (AUT) +2.9
- Andreas Fjorden Ree (NOR) +8.0
- Simen Hegstad Krueger (NOR) +8.2
2023/24 Cross-Country World Cup, final overall standings:
Women's
- Jessie Diggins (USA) 2746 points
- Linn Svahn (SWE) 2571
- Frida Karlsson (SWE) 2309
- Victoria Carl (GER) 2114
- Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) 2080
- Jonna Sundling (SWE) 2066
Men's
- Harald Østberg Amundsen (NOR) 2654 points
- Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) 2600
- Erik Valnes (NOR) 2106
- Paal Golberg (NOR) 1869
- Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) 1409
- Friedrich Moch (GER) 1305