Jessie Diggins extends cross-country advantage with victory in Canada with 15km mass start triumph

BySportsbeat

Published 10/02/2024 at 13:40 GMT

The 2021 World Cup champion Jessie Diggins looks set for glory once more after extending her FIS Cross-Country World Cup with a 15km mass start victory in Canada. The American edged France's Delphine Claudel by 2.6 seconds to seal the win as Norway's Heidi Weng took bronze. "That was very exciting and I've been looking forward to this for a very, very long time," Diggins said after the race.

‘Clever racing’ - Diggins secures sixth win of season in Women’s 15km Mass Start in Canmore

Jessie Diggins extended her lead in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup with 15km mass start victory in Canada.

Diggins edged France's Delphine Claudel by 2.6 seconds to seal the win as the Cross-Country World Cup returned to North America for the first time since 2019, with Norway's Heidi Weng taking bronze.

The 2021 World Cup champion clocked a time of 40:26.0 in Canmore to take another step towards sealing another overall crystal globe.

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Diggins now sits 340 points ahead of Linn Svahn, who finished ninth, while her fellow Swede Frida Karlsson, who sits third in the overall standings, finished 11th, 15 seconds off the pace.

"That was very exciting and I've been looking forward to this for a very, very long time," said Diggins.

"I have a lot of family members out there; my parents, my grandma, my in-laws, it was so much fun to be able to race like that in front of them.

"I know they'd be proud of me no matter what but I was hoping to be able to put on a show."

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The men's race was won by Simen Heisted Krueger, who led a Norwegian one-two ahead of Harald Oestberg Amundsen.

Krueger finished 9.8 seconds ahead of his compatriot as he powered to an impressive victory, with Austria's Mika Vermeulen taking third.

Amundsen retains his healthy lead at the top of the overall standings, with the 25-year-old 375 points ahead of Erik Valnes, who finished 26th in Canada.

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Cross-Country Skiing