For quite a few years now, every winter has ended with a spring series of four races, which U.S. Team members are required to attend. The series rotates around the country and this year it was held at Craftsbury, Vermont. In addition to all the Olympians, it brings out the best collegiate, as well as junior and senior domestic racers.
Jessie Diggins, Sadie Bjornsen, and Kikkan Randall went 1-2-3 in the 10k, crushing the rest of the other 15 Olympians. The picture below is from less than a kilometer to go, and after a big climb they put the pedal to the metal and sprinted all out to finish. The power, speed, and endurance of these athletes is amazing. After watching their performance up close, it is easy to see why these gals are on World Cup podiums, and why they won the recent Olympic Team Sprint event.
Jessie Diggins, Sadie Bjornsen, and Kikkan Randall went 1-2-3 in the 10k, crushing the rest of the other 15 Olympians. The picture below is from less than a kilometer to go, and after a big climb they put the pedal to the metal and sprinted all out to finish. The power, speed, and endurance of these athletes is amazing. After watching their performance up close, it is easy to see why these gals are on World Cup podiums, and why they won the recent Olympic Team Sprint event.
The 10k skate race was my daughter's last race of the season. Lucy finished ahead of one Olympian back from South Korea, beat a gal just back from the NCAA championship who finished in the top 20, ahead of a skier that got the competitive Craftsbury internship last summer which she is applying for now, she was 30 seconds back from one of our Olympic biathletes, and just under a minute back from another woman who was on the cross country Olympic squad. She felt good, and given the level of competition, she described it as one of her top results this season.
A great end to a somewhat frustrating season.
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