Under clear skies and in front of a roaring American crowd, Jessie Diggins and JC Schoonmaker led the Stifel U.S. Ski Team in Saturday’s sprint at the Stifel Lake Placid Finals, each finishing ninth in a tightly contested day of racing.

The energy at Mt Van Hoevenberg was undeniable, with fans lining the course and packing the stadium early, creating an electric atmosphere even at qualifiers. The crowd grew louder throughout the day, especially as the Americans took to the course in the heats.

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team put eight athletes into the heats from qualifiers. Diggins, Julia Kern and Sammy Smith represented the American women, while Schoonmaker, Ben Ogden, Gus Schumacher, Jack Young and Zanden McMullen led the charge for the men.

In the quarterfinals, Diggins and Schoonmaker kept their days alive by advancing as lucky losers in dramatic fashion, narrowly securing spots in hard-fought fast heats. The rest of the U.S. squad battled through the quarters, skiing well in front of the home crowd, but ultimately fell just short of advancing.

With a place in the finals on the line, both Diggins and Schoonmaker delivered all-out efforts to fight through a course made challenging by sections of soft, tricky snow. Despite their strong pushes, both did not qualify for finals and finished ninth overall. 

“We're having fun out here and it's not just about winning,” said Diggins. “It's not the results. It's putting down a really solid effort. It's giving your best. It's challenging yourself and it's going out there and just racing with integrity and hugging your competitors from around the world. And I really, I hope they see that and just get to absorb that.”

“We’ve got the best fans in the world out here right now,” said Schoonmaker. “It's electric. I was just trying to race my hardest for them and they gave me so much extra energy. The last couple weeks, I haven't been racing that well and today to qualify in front of them… I think it's all because of those people on the last hill. I was just trying to do it for them.”

Diggins also gushed about the atmosphere of Lake Placid, which has been only the second time racing a World Cup in the U.S. in her long career. “This is so special," she said. "This is the best venue of the entire season, hands down. It's been so fun and we still have another day to go!”

Rounding out the Americans, Smith was 17th and Kern 26th. Ava Thurston finished 38th, Lauren Jortberg 40th, Rosie Brennan 42nd, Alayna Sonnesyn 44th, Hailey Swirbul 45th, Emma Albrecht 48th, Erin Bianco 53rd, Nina Schamberger 54th and Renae Anderson 61st. On the men’s side, Young was 13th, McMullen 15th, Ogden 17th, Schumacher 21st, Zachary Jayne 33rd, Zak Ketterson 39th, Murphy Kimball 42nd, Kevin Bolger 43rd, John Schwinghamer 54th, Will Koch 55th and Owen Young 64th. 

The Stifel Lake Placid Finals will conclude Sunday with the 20k skate mass start, which will mark Diggins’ final race as a professional skier. The day will also celebrate her historic season, as she is set to receive both the overall Crystal Globe, which she clinched in Friday's 10k, and the distance title.

RESULTS
Women’s sprint
Men’s sprint

HOW TO WATCH STIFEL LAKE PLACID FINALS
(all times ET)

SUNDAY, MARCH 22
12:30 p.m. - men's 20k skate mass start - LIVE on Outside TV (free)
2:30 p.m. - women's 20k skate mass start - LIVE on Outside TV (free)

SUNDAY, MARCH 29
1:00 p.m. - women's 20 skate mass start - TAPE DELAY on NBC, Peacock

Battling heavy, wet snowfall and backed by a roaring home crowd, Jessie Diggins and Gus Schumacher led the charge for the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in the 10k classic at the Stifel Lake Placid Cup, taking fifth and seventh place, respectively. Ben Ogden was just out of the top 10 in 11th place. Diggins also clinched the Overall World Cup Crystal Globe, the fourth of her career and third in a row. Diggins clinched the Distance Crystal Globe last weekend in the Holmenkollen 50k. This was Ogden's best distance race of the 2025-26 season, John Steel Hagenbuch's best classic race of his career, among other fantastic results. 

The Stifel Lake Placid Cup marked just the second time in two years that the COOP FIS Cross Country World Cup has returned to U.S. soil, following the Stifel Loppet Cup in Minneapolis in 2024, and the fans showed up in force once again, battling cold temperatures and snowfall throughout the day.

The women’s race proved especially demanding, with heavy snow falling throughout the competition and quickly deteriorating track conditions as snow caked the tracks and forced athletes to fight for every stride. Diggins stayed composed throughout, navigating the tough conditions to secure a commendable fifth place finish. 

“I had so much fun out there!” said Diggins. “It was so cool. The crowds were amazing. The fact that so many people came out here in a snowstorm and were out in the woods just cheering, screaming. It was so exciting. I felt so loved. And my big goal was to have fun and to just go as hard as I could one last time in a classic race and to really be present and involved.”

It was the first race of Diggins’ last World Cup race weekend of her career, having announced that she is retiring at the end of the season. “I think it was one of my best 10K classics of my life and that's a great way to end it,” she added. 

Sweden’s Lina Svahn took the victory with teammate Frida Karlsson in second, while Norway’s Heidi Weng rounded out the podium in third. 

Rounding out the Americans in the points, Rosie Brennan was 19th, followed by Kendall Kramer in 25th and Novie McCabe in 28th. Ava Thurston finished 33rd, Hailey Swirbul 34th, Alayna Sonnesyn 35th, Sammy Smith 47th, Emma Albrecht 48th, Renae Anderson 50th, Emma Reeder 53rd and Katey Houser 58th.

On the men’s side, Schumacher once again demonstrated his strength on home snow, building on momentum from his victory in the 10k skate at the 2024 Stifel Loppet Cup, as well as the team sprint silver medal in Milano Cortina with Ogden. Schumacher pushed to seventh place, a particularly impressive result in a classic race, while Ogden narrowly missed the top 10 in 11th. 

“Especially wearing my hat, people recognize me really easily, so they get fired up in the warm up,” said Schumacher, who sports a cow-print Skida hat. “The race was cool. It was really easy to push hard with the people cheering so close, like a bike race or something.” 

The rest of the American field saw John Steel Hagenbuch finish 32nd, Zanden McMullen 40th, Zachary Jayne 49th, Brian Bushey 50th, JC Schoonmaker 53rd, Reid Goble—fresh off guiding Jake Adicoff to double Paralympic gold—56th, Benjamin Dohlby 62nd, Hunter Wonders 63rd, Michael Earnhart 67th and Luke Jager 70th. 

Norway dominated the men’s race, sweeping the top five positions, with Johannes Høsflot Klæbo taking the win ahead of Andreas Fjorden Ree in second and Mattis Stenshagen in third.

Following the podium, the day concluded with a celebratory final lap featuring former U.S. Ski Team legends, including Olympic gold medalist Kikkan Randall, many of whom wore retro race suits representing different generations of the team dating back to 1976.

Racing continues on Saturday with the men’s and women’s skate sprint starting at 10:30 a.m. ET for qualifiers and 1 p.m. ET for heats. 

RESULTS
Women’s 10k classic
Men’s 10k classic

HOW TO WATCH STIFEL LAKE PLACID FINALS
(all times ET)

SATURDAY, MARCH 21
10:30 a.m. - sprint qualifiers - LIVE on Outside TV (free)
1:00 p.m. - sprint heats - LIVE on Outside TV & NBC, Peacock 
3:00 p.m. - women & men's 10k - TAPE DELAY on CNBC, Peacock

SUNDAY, MARCH 22
12:30 p.m. - men's 20k skate mass start - LIVE on Outside TV (free)
2:30 p.m. - women's 20k skate mass start - LIVE on Outside TV (free)

SUNDAY, MARCH 29
1:00 p.m. - women's 20 skate mass start - TAPE DELAY on NBC, Peacock

The Stifel Lake Placid Finals are finally here, with three races on the calendar to wrap up the 2025-26 FIS World Cup season. This weekend also marks the final races of the most decorated American cross country skier of all time, Jessie Diggins, who officially announced her retirement at the beginning of the season in Ruka, Finland. 

More U.S. racers on the start list in the races, due to the Stifel Lake Placid Finals being at home. The USA is offering Nations Spots, meaning six more start opportunities are offered. Each night before the race, the starters will be announced at the conclusion of the Team Captains Meeting. 

Outside of racing, the organizing committee, ORDA and Mt Vanhovenberg offer several activities over the three days of the event, creating a festival-like atmosphere that features Olympic and Paralympic legends, kids' events, vendor activations, athlete signings and more. Find the schedule HERE. 

Jessie Diggins' film, Threshold, has its theatrical debut each night at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Palace Theatre in downtown Lake Placid. Tickets can be found at the box office, cash only. 

HOW TO WATCH STIFEL LAKE PLACID FINALS

All races will be LIVE with commentary on Outside TV via YouTube for FREE. NBC/Peacock will also stream the races at various times, including live coverage of the skate sprint heats on Saturday, March 21. 

(all times ET)

FRIDAY, MARCH 20
1:00 p.m. - men's 10k - LIVE on Outside TV (free)
3:00 p.m. - women's 10k - LIVE on Outside TV (free) 

SATURDAY, MARCH 21
10:30 a.m. - sprint qualifiers - LIVE on Outside TV (free)
1:00 p.m. - sprint heats - LIVE on Outside TV & NBC, Peacock 
3:00 p.m. - women & men's 10k - TAPE DELAY on CNBC, Peacock

SUNDAY, MARCH 22
12:30 p.m. - men's 20k skate mass start - LIVE on Outside TV (free)
2:30 p.m. - women's 20k skate mass start - LIVE on Outside TV (free)

SUNDAY, MARCH 29
1:00 p.m. - women's 20 skate mass start - TAPE DELAY on NBC, Peacock

STARTERS 
*subject to change

March 20, 2026 // 10k Classic

WOMEN
Emma Albrecht
Renae Anderson
Rosie Brennan
Katey Houser
Kendall Kramer
Novie McCabe
Emma Reeder
Sammy Smith
Hailey Swirbul
Alayna Sonnesyn
Ava Thurston

MEN
Brian Bushey
Benjamin Dohlby
Michael Earnhart
Reid Goble
John Steel Hagenbuch
Luke Jager
Zach Jayne
Zanden McMullen
Ben Ogden
JC Schoonmaker
Gus Schumacher
Hunter Wonders

March 21, 2026 // skate sprint 
WOMEN
Emma Albrecht
Renaie Anderson
Erin Bianco
Rosie Brennan
Jessie Diggins
Lauren Jortberg
Julia Kern
Nina Schamberger
Samantha Smith
Alayna Sonnesyn
Hailey Swirbul
Ava Thurston

MEN
Kevin Bolger
Zach Jayne
Zak Ketterson
Murphy Kimball
Will Koch
Zanden McMullen
Ben Ogden
JC Schoonmake
Gus Schumacher
John Schwinghamer 
Jack Young
Owen Young

March 22, 2026 // 20k skate, mass start 
TBD - start list will be released the evening before the race

In one of the most weather-y races of the season, the athletes took on the iconic 50k mass start at Holmenkollen under extremely difficult conditions. Heavy fog blanketed the iconic cross country and ski jumping venue throughout the day, making visibility limited to just a few feet at times. "I couldn't see 10 meters in front of me," said Zak Ketterson, post-race. The thick fog, paired with rain and soft, melting snow, posed a challenge for athletes and created a surreal scene for fans both on course and watching the broadcast, as skiers frequently disappeared. Diggins crossed the line in sixth place; Ketterson was 18th. 

Despite the demanding conditions, Jessie Diggins delivered another strong performance, finishing sixth in what marked her final European World Cup race of the season, and final 50k of her career. Diggins remained competitive throughout the eight-lap course. Through the laps, Diggins remained in the hunt, behind Sweden's Frida Karlsson. Karlsson, who missed the 50k at the Olympic Winter Games due to sickness, showed up to the Holmenkollen with one thing on her mind: first place. 

The 50k also introduced a unique format change on the World Cup circuit. For the first time, the men started 45 minutes before the women, meaning both fields were on course simultaneously. At times throughout the race, men and women skied side-by-side on the Holmenkollen trails—an unusual and historic moment in World Cup racing. 

Across the finish line, Diggins was in sixth place; however, first in an even bigger race: the distance World Cup standings. With Saturday’s results, Diggins has officially secured the distance Crystal Globe, her third season in a row, finishing the season with an insurmountable lead of 255 points, beyond the 230 points needed to clinch the Globe. She now sits just points away from clinching the overall Crystal Globe, which would also mark the third consecutive year she has won both the overall and distance titles —and the fourth overall title of her career. Diggins remains the only non-European athlete to ever win the overall World Cup title.

While the trophies will not be formally presented until next weekend, Diggins’ dominance across the season has effectively sealed the distance title ahead of the Stifel Lake Placid World Cup Finals in Lake Placid, where the Crystal Globes will be awarded following the sprint and 20k mass start race on Sunday, March 22.

"We basically wrapped up two Crystal Globes today," said Diggins, post-race. "I still have to race in Lake Placid... not counting my chickens too early, but, it is so cool and meaningful to have done this with the team, and I all I really want to say is a huge thank you to the team... This is really important to me because I feel like it represents years and years of hard work and so much dedication. It makes me really proud to be a part of a caring and loving team that works so hard and is willing to spend so much time on the road to make these big crazy dreams and big goals possible. 

To have worn the yellow bib for the last three years of my career, pretty much straight, is an insane dream come true. I mean, 10 years ago, I would have no believed that that would even be possible. So, it's really humbling to live out my childhood dreams and I am sure there are going to be a lot of tears and emotion going into Lake Placid!" 

On the men’s side, Zak Ketterson delivered a strong 50k, finishing 18th overall in the demanding conditions. Like the women’s race, the men battled through steady rain, dense fog and deteriorating snow conditions over the full 50 kilometers.

With the European World Cup calendar now complete, the circuit heads home for the final races of the year in Lake Placid, where Diggins will look to officially secure the overall Crystal Globe and close out her storied career in front of the community that got her there. 

The podiums of the day were a Norwegian sweep for the men and a Swedish sweep for the women. Einar Hedegart took first in the men's race, followed by Harald Oestberg Amundsen in second and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget in third. Karlsson took the victory for the women, with Linn Svahn in second and Jonna Sundling in third. USA's results were led by Diggins in sixth, Ketterson 18th, Kendall Kramer 41st, Hunter Wonders 45th, Kevin Bolger 48th and Brian Bushey 59th. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

In front of packed grandstands and crowds lining the course in Lahti, three American athletes landed in the top-15, with Jessie Diggins powering to a third-place result, Rosie Brennan back in a familiar place in 12th, and Gus Schumacher in 15th. This is the final race of the Lahti World Cup and now the field will head to Norway for a city sprint in Drammen and the infamous 50k Holmenkollen in Oslo. 

In a race that requires your classic skiing to be dialed, with the long climbs and technical descents. For the women's race, it was all gas, no brakes. From the gun, with an athlete taking off every 15 seconds, the Swedish women were setting the pace. But, Diggins was not far behind. Throughout the time checks, Swedish gold medalists Frida Karlsson and Linn Svahn battled throughout the course, each setting the tone. At the first time-check, marked at the 1.1k, Diggins was 7.3 seconds behind Svahn, then at 3.4, only 6.4 seconds off. At 6.1k, only 3.1 seconds off and then at the final time check, at 8.4k, was sitting in third place. Obviously, this shows that Diggins found speed in the latter stages of the race, gaining crucial seconds on the descents—something she is well known for—to push onto the podium. For Brennan, the sentiment was similar. This season, Brennan's goal was to find herself again after battling an illness that has made it difficult for the three-time Olympian to regain her speed. Yet, she never gives up and today was a testament to that. 

"This has been a game of time all along, and of course, there have been many moments in which I've wondered (and continue to do so) if I will ever feel normal again in my life, and that is a very difficult place to be, but I have worked extremely hard on my mind and body to try to show up again-and-again with a sliver of hope that someday my body will return," said Brennan, post-race. "The last three days are the most normal I have felt in racing since December 2024. 

Lahti is a course that requires good technical skiing, so I felt that if I relaxed and put together good classic technique, I'd be giving myself the best chance. I had good skis, so it was easy to relax out there today. I do believe in my classic skiing, so I feel I executed that well. I don't think this is a linear process, so I'm sure I still have some ups-and-downs in this process, but I do finally feel and deeply hope that I've moved into a healing phase."

For Diggins's podium, the result marks Diggins’s 90th career FIS Cross Country World Cup podium in a record-setting 379 starts, and her first 10k classic interval start World Cup race (outside of the Tour de Ski stage races) and continues an exceptionally consistent season. She has finished no worse than 10th in every classic race this winter and has a top-10 result in every classic start of the season. Diggins also maintains her lead in the overall World Cup standings as the season enters its final stretch, in both the overall standings and distance standings. 

"That was really cool and really special," said Diggins, speaking to the atmosphere in Lahti. "There were so many people out on the course with signs that said, 'thank you, Jessie,' and it was just really emotional in the best way. It was really touching and cool to see little kids wearing glitter after the race and just honestly a really fun way to go out." 

"I really enjoyed just going really hard one more time on this course. I feel like the Lahti course is one that honestly has not suited my strengths in classic, so it was really cool to feel like I was able to pull it together more today and I feel like I had great skis, which is a huge part of the equation, espeically when the conditions get slushy. So I feel like this podium belongs to the team, and I am grateful to them for all their hard work!"

On the men’s side, Gus Schumacher skied a controlled race to finish 15th. Schumacher currently sits sixth in the overall World Cup standings, in line with his personal goal of finishing the season inside the top 10.

The women's race was ultimately won by Karlsson of Sweden, with her teammate Svahn in second. For the U.S. women, Kendall Kramer, who skied to her career-best result just last week in the 20k skiathlon, was 41st, Novie McCabe 43rd, Julia Kern 45th, Lauren Jortberg 57th and Emma Albrecht 58th. For the men, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway continued his win streak of 12 in-a-row, taking first. His teammate, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, was second and Savelii Korostelev was third. The U.S. men were led by Schumacher, with Zanden McMullen in 32nd, just .05 off the top-30, Ben Ogden 33rd, Hunter Wonders 46th and JC Schoonmaker 53rd. 

The World Cup now moves to Norway for a sprint and 50k before the final three races of the season in Lake Placid for the Stifel Lake Placid Finals at Mt Van Hovenberg in Lake Placid, NY. 

Results 
Women
Men

In the final race Jessie Diggins will ever race in Falun, she delivered. In an all-out sprint to the finish, with three women vying for the top spot, Diggins crossed the line .01 behind Norway's Heidi Weng to claim second place and her 88th career World Cup podium. Kendall Kramer also had a stand-out day, crossing the line in ninth place, a career-best result for the young Alaskan and Gus Schumacher continued his strong streak of results in seventh, respectively. 

It was a team-effort type of day - from the wax technicians to the support staff, and all who wear the Stifel U.S. Ski Team badge on their jackets. A skiathlon, which features both skate and classic skiing in one race, mixed with variable snow and weather conditions, was one of those challenging days that keep wax technicians up at night. But the team put together strong skis for the field, with techs making upwards of 20 pairs per athlete to find the perfect ski. At the end of the day, their work paid off, with a podium finish for Diggins, Schumacher in seventh and Kramer in ninth. 

For the women, it was a true race from the start line to the finish line. The lead pack never ventured too far ahead of the chase, and there was a new leader nearly every kilometer. Sweden's Frida Karlsson was back in the mix after recovering from the Olympic-sickness and Heidi Weng was on a mission to take home her first World Cup win since 2022. Then there was Diggins. In the first 10k of the race, Diggins raced conservatively, sitting behind the leaders and drafting on the long downhills and hammering over the top of the massive climbs that the Falun course is known for. With a clean transition to skate, there was 10k to decide who would take home the victory. In that time, Kramer made a decisive move and managed to ski up to the pack that had the leaders in sight, showing that she deserved to be there. For her, a career-best result was in sight, and she wasn't going to let it go. 

"It was so enjoyable to feel I was skiing to my potential," said Kramer. "Even the top 20 felt like a ceiling for me this year, and today surprised me. I was sticking with girls I thought I’d never be around in my ski career. Everything just went right in a way you can never predict in ski racing because you prepare to do your best every single day, but the stars aligned today. A lot of confidence was gained today and I’ll be chasing the feeling of feeling this good during a race for a while!"

The pace quickened with 5k to go with Weng turning on the jets. Diggins, Weng and Karlsson gapped themselves from the field and it was just a matter of which of the three would win. With 1k left in the race, Weng was right behind Karlsson, and Diggins was behind Weng. 

"For me, I was just trying to ski a gutsy race and ski smart," said Diggins. "I kept telling myself, 'just try and be there' at the finish, and then you can dig deep and see what's at the bottom of the tank. I pushed myself really hard and was psyched that the energy and the fitness are still there."

Into the final downhill section and the final right-hand turn into the home straight, the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic team sprint moment was coming back to life, with "Here Comes Diggins" happening right before everyone's eyes. Weng and Diggins managed to surpass Karlsson and across the line, Weng lunged to just beat Diggins by .01 seconds. It was Weng's first World Cup victory since 2022 and her 144th of her career. 

"That was a really cool last race here in Falun," said Diggins. "My first thing to say is a huge thank you to our technicians. I don't know if you could tell from the broadcast, but the weather was crazy for the classic half of the race. I am so grateful to have competitive skis; they make such a big difference. And it was truly a team effort out there."

Schumacher's seventh-place finish is a testament to his strong form this late in the season. Kevin Bolger, racing in his "second home," was behind Schumacher in 36th, Hunter Wonders was 47th, JC Schoonmaker 58th and Zanden McMullen 61st. For the USA women, Hailey Swirbul was just outside of the top 30 in 33rd, Rosie Brennan 35th, Novie McCabe 42nd and Emma Albrecht 44th. 

The men's podium was a Norwegian sweep, with Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo first in both races in Falun, Harald Oestberg Amundsen second and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget third. Weng was first for the women, Diggins second and Karlsson third. 

Results
Women
Men