SEEFELD / STOCKHOLM. In Charlotte Kallas's absence, a strong message was sent from the West to the OS.
American Jessica Diggins won the 10-mile freestyle 10-mile genre after a jerk that broke Heidi Weng and Ragnhild Haga.
"It's hard to crack the field but that was my only chance. But that was not good, says Jessica Diggins in SVT's broadcast.
In Austria, Seefeld was running the last World Cup on Sunday in Pyeongchang on Sunday. At the distance 10 kilometers free it was the position of other Swedes to step into the absence of Charlotte Kallas and Stina Nilsson.
But there was no Swedish top 10. Ida Ingemarsdotter became 11th and Ebba Andersson in 25th place.
Water, instead, made American Jessica Diggins, after a monster print that broke Heidi Weng and Ragnhild Haga.
"It was really awesome"
Jessica Diggins said the race went according to plan.
"It was a very fast race, very fun and it's always crazy at the start of the game. For me, it was easiest to be in the lead to avoid trouble, and in the first few weeks I tested my skis and slides to see how much distance I needed, "she told SportExpressen.
And then did you crack the Norwegian?
"It was really awesome, because for the last litter I thought I simply had to try it to see if it was enough - and it did!
"Bad time off of the mountain"
One of Charlotte Kallas's biggest competitors on the distance, Marit Björgen, had a tighter race.
After striking in the first two yards she held it together at the end and scored in a goal like five.
- She's amazing and never gets away. But as technically bad as she went today, to be out of order ... Again, a bad freeze by Marit Björgen, says Anders Blomquist in SVT.
Heidi Weng finished second, a nice revamp after the fiasco in the sprint on Saturday.
"I did not quite know what it would be like today, but it felt much better than yesterday," she says.
Blomquist believes that Ida Ingemarsdotter has strengthened its shares for the Olympic Games.
"Ida does it really well, she strengthens her role to be up to date for the team team and to drive distance. Ebba makes a weak effort, thinking she would go much better, he states.
Maria Nordström finished in 17th place. Linn Sömskar became 28th, Evelina Settlin 38th and Maja Dahlqvist in place 41.
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