Diggins finally wins in Trondheim with Skiathlon sprint finish

Reigning double World Cup overall champion Jessie Diggins (USA) put herself in contention for a third straight Crystal Globe by winning the 20km Skiathlon in Trondheim on Saturday.

It was a first victory for the Minnesotan at the Norwegian venue - where she endured a disappointing Nordic Skiing World Championships earlier this year - on what will be her last season on tour, going one better than two years ago, when she finished second in the same race on the same track.

Diggins had to do it the hard way, though. As well as a stacked leading group featuring big names from Norway and Sweden as well as Teresa Stadlober (AUT), the 34-year-old had to overcome a Trondheim course on which it is difficult to pull away from the field, due to the long straight downhills that enable the skiers to use the slipstream of those in front of them to catch up.

She also survived getting tangled up with Frida Karlsson (SWE) as they entered the ski changeover area between the Classic and Freestyle legs.

The Swede - world champion over 50km and a winner in Ruka, Finland last week - was the first to push the pace in the second half of the race, with Diggins, Skiathlon world champion Ebba Andersson and Norwegians Heidi Weng and Oeyre Astrid Slind in hot pursuit.

It was still anybody's race with two of the six 3.3km laps to go. Andersson tried to break away halfway through the penultimate lap, but was quickly reeled in. One lap later, it was Slind's turn to make her move. She, too, couldn't get away.

Knowing she was the best sprinter in the leading group apart from Emma Ribom (SWE), Diggins decided to go for broke on the final climb - unlike Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), who earlier in the day used slipstreaming to move into the lead on the last downhill.

Weng tried to go with Diggins but there was already daylight between the two by the time they rounded the final corner, a tricky right-hander that caused several crashes during the world championships, albeit in more challenging conditions.

Diggins crossed one second in front for her first victory of her final season before retirement, going one better than last week in Ruka, Finland, where she finished second.

Weng held on for her third podium of the season with Andersson another 1.3s back after she overtook Karlsson on the home straight.

Diggins was modest in victory. "I feel like a broken record but we win as a team, have success as a team, and it takes the whole truck," she said. "I had amazing skate [Freestyle] skis and such good kick in the Classic.

"I was really thinking about doing it for the wax truck today. I love those guys and they work so hard, so I think it's really exciting for the whole team."

"I was just trying to think about being smart with positioning, and I could feel my legs almost starting to cramp up, so I was thinking I only have one good sprint in me so I have to to wait for the right moment to make the move, because if I go too early, it's all over. I was just trying to be smart and read my body and be in the right place at the right time."

Andersson said she was "glad to be back at a venue where I've had a lot of good experiences" - namely, victory in this race two years ago and two world championship golds, including Skiathlon, earlier this year.

"It was a tough race. A lot of girls were skiing strongly today. There were quite a lot of us at the end of the race so it was tough fighting for a place on the podium."

The action continues in Trondheim on Sunday with the Men's and Women's 10km Interval Start Freestyle.

For all the results from Trondheim, click here