Diggins wins World Championships dress rehearsal: 'An awesome momentum going into Trondheim'

Jessie Diggins (USA) is heading to the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Trondheim, Norway, with an "awesome momentum" after winning the Women's 20km Mass Start Free in Falun, Sweden, on Sunday.

The 33-year-old overall World Cup leader beat runner-up Heidi Weng (NOR) by 0.7 of a second as Ebba Andersson (SWE) finished in third place, collecting her sixth Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup victory this season in a Sunday of success for the American team.

Diggins said she and teammate Julia Kern, who finished sixth, had been inspired by Gus Schumacher (USA) clinching the second place in the Men's Mass Start a couple of hours earlier. Crossing the line 0.3 of a second from the victory, Schumacher's solid race had made Diggins determined to make the last World Cup day before the winter's main event a big one for the USA.

"That was so awesome," Diggins said.

Andersson, who had won Saturday's 10km Interval Start Classic, had looked keen to head to Trondheim with back-to-back victories in the bag. The 27-year-old held the first place coming into the last of five 4km loops and kept pushing the pace, trying to shake the opponents off.

On her difficult home track, where skiers have to climb the gruesome 'Murder hill' five times, the front group had whittled down to five main contenders for the three podium spots; Andersson, Weng, Diggins, Nora Sanness (NOR) and Victoria Carl of Germany.

Carl, the women's overall World Cup No.2, however fell in the stadium's flat part and broke a pole, losing touch with the front group, where Diggins was the last skier.

With 200 meters left of the race, the American worked her way to the first position and kept her lead until the finish line, leaving Andersson and Weng to battle it out for the second place behind her.

"Huge congrats to the wax technicians, they've been working so hard all weekend," said Diggins, who had been seventh in Friday's Sprint and fourth in Saturday's 10km race.

It was the second year in a row that Diggins, who posed for a picture with Sweden's king Carl XVI Gustaf, won the event in Falun.

"I really like this course," Diggins said.

"To be totally honest, I was starting to cramp up and I think that if the fourth lap had been a little bit faster, I would've been off the back."

Weng, who had been in second place behind Andersson on Saturday, came out winning this time. The 33-year-old managed to keep the home skier a 10th of a second behind her to claim her seventh podium this season as Andersson had to settle for this winter's third top-three finish, in front of the Swedish king.

Sannes finished 5.9 seconds behind the winner to grab the fourth place as Carl, in fifth place, crossed the line 27.2 seconds after Diggins.

Kern won the battle of the chase group to secure the sixth place 45.1 seconds after her teammate, beating No.7 Pia Fink (GER) by 0.6 of a second.

Nadja Kaelin (SUI) clinched the eighth place, three 10ths of a second before Katarina Janatova (CZE) and Flora Dolci (FRA) who were separated by a photo finish that made Janatova number nine.

The victory extends the lead in the overall World Cup standings for Diggins, who looks like she is heading for a second consecutive Crystal Globe.

With five races left of the World Cup season, Diggins has a 472-point gap down to the main chaser Carl. As No.3 Astrid Oeyre Slind did not compete in Falun, Carl now has a margin of 97 points down to the Norwegian, who is only eight points clear of Kerttu Niskanen (FIN).

The next of three remaining World Cup events this winter is in Oslo 15-16 March. Before that, there will be plenty of Cross-Country action 490km north of the Norwegian capital as the World Championships in Trondheim start on 26 February, with its last event, the 50km Mass Start Free, decided on 9 March.

With 11 days left to prepare for her first event in Trondheim – the Women's Sprint Free – Diggins said she is "excited to taper", which means reducing exercise in the days leading up to an important competition.

"I've been pushing a massive training load, so I'm ready to come down and get a little rest, and come into Trondheim and see my family," she said.

Click here for full results from the Women's 20km Mass Start Free, here for the World Cup standings and here to follow FIS Cross-Country on Youtube.