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The big event will take place next week when Jesse Diggins will compete in the highly anticipated World Cup in Minneapolis. But the cross-country skier from Afton was also looking forward to the first part in Canada.
On Friday, Diggins got his North American swing off to a great start with his fifth individual win of the season. She won the 15km freestyle in Canmore, Alberta, overtaking France’s Delphine Claudel in the final straight. Diggins ran a great tactical race and she finished in 40 minutes, 26 seconds, 2.6 seconds ahead of Claudel.
The win tied the U.S. record for most individual World Cup wins in a cross country season, held by Kikkan Randall. It was also Diggins’ 10th individual World Cup podium finish this season. In addition to his five wins, he also won the overall Tour de Ski title.
Diggins is 340 points ahead of Sweden’s Lynn Svarn in the overall World Cup standings and is aiming for her second career overall victory. She also has a 245 point lead in the distance rankings.
The Canmore event continues with racing on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday before the Tour moves to Theodore Worth Park. The Loppet Cup in Minneapolis will include a freestyle sprint next Saturday, followed by a 10km freestyle race on February 17th.
“It was very exciting,” Diggins told fis-ski.com after Friday’s race. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time.
“I have a lot of family, including my parents, grandmother, and in-laws. It was so fun to race in front of them like that. I know they would be proud of me no matter what. But I thought we could do a show. ”
Friday’s Canmore course was fast, and Diggins said U.S. engineers had prepared the perfect skis for the conditions. She raced strategically, moving to the front when bonus points were at stake, but otherwise competing for time.
Claudel took the lead in the final kilometer, but Diggins passed him on the final descent and pulled away.
“I’m doing well, but Jesse is very, very fast at the finish,” Claudel said. “I’m happy to be in second place today.”
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