Local favorite Alayna Sonnesyn (Plymouth, Minn., SMS T2) won the Minneapolis SuperTour sprint freestyle race Friday on the test track for the FIS World Cup to be held in March 2020.

“I found myself in second place coming down the hill and was hoping to slingshot around, but everyone one else was trying to do the same,” said Sonnesyn. “I was in a good position coming up and over the bridge and I really wanted it today, so I gave it everything I had in the last 100 meters.”

Joining Sonnesyn on the podium was Becca Rorabaugh (Fairbanks, Alaska, APU Nordic Ski Center) in second and Erika Flowers (Bozeman, Mont., Salomon) in third.

The men’s race was won by Canadian Antoine Briand (CNEPH) with Fellow Alaskan’s Tyler Kornfield (Anchorage, Alaska, APU Nordic Ski Center) in second and Forrest Mahlen (Frisco, Colo., APU Nordic Ski Center) in third.

When asked about how this race course will be for the World Cup next year, Sonnesyn said, “I am really excited the World Cup is coming to my hometown and feeling like the community is here to support it.  I think it will be a tactical race next year and will require some technical work and strategy to win.”

The SuperTour continues this Saturday, February 23rd in Hayward, Wisconsin, for the American Birkebeiner.

RESULTS
Men and women’s sprint
Men and women’s classic mass start
Men and women’s freestyle interval start

Eighteen U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are ready to kick off the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld, Austria, Feb. 20 - March 3 against the best athletes in the sport in more than a dozen events -  all of which will be televised and/or streamed its entirely on networks of NBC Sports.

“The Team has had excellent preparation camps over the past two weeks,” said U.S. Cross Country Team Head Coach Chris Grover. “The sprint team has been Vålådalen, Sweden, preparing at lower altitude, while the distance team has been in Davos, Switzerland, at moderate altitude.  Our only challenges during this period have been having too much winter (i.e. lots of snow and cold temps), and too many kilometers of excellent grooming enticing athletes to ski more than they should!”

The team includes two medalists from past championships, Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.). At the 2017 World Championships in Lahti, Finland, Diggins won the silver in the freestyle sprint, and teamed up with Bjornsen in the classic team sprint to take the bronze. Only five Americans have won a cross country medal at World Championships.

“I’m excited for the World Championships, and as we wind down to the final week before the races, I feel good about my preparation,” said Diggins. “I can say with absolute honesty that I’ve done everything I can to be as fit as possible and as mentally ready as I can be, so now it’s just a matter of having fun and letting my body do what it already knows how to do; race as hard as possible!”

“The final prep has been going well here in Davos, Switzerland,” said Bjornsen. “I am really looking forward to showing up ready to fight in a variety of races throughout the Championships. I think my body is in the best place it has ever been at this time of the year, so I can't wait to see what I can convince my mind to do.”

Competition opens on Thursday, February 21, with the freestyle sprint, followed by the skiathlon before heading into the distance races. The Championships conclude on March 2-3 with a 30k women’s and 50k men’s freestyle mass start.

2019 U.S. Cross Country World Championship Team
(name, hometown, ski club, birthdate)

Men

• Simi Hamilton, Aspen, Co., (SMST2) 5/14/1987
• Erik Bjornsen, Winthrop, Wash., (Alaska Pacific University) 7/15/1991
• Andy Newell, Shaftsbury, Vt., (SMST2) 11/30/1983
• Kevin Bolger, Sun Valley, Idaho, (SVSEF) 04/11/1993
• Logan Hanneman, Fairbanks, Alaska, (Alaska Pacific University) 6/2/1993
• Kyle Bratrud, Eden Prairie, Minn., (SMST2) 2/9/1993
• David Norris, Fairbanks, Alaska, (Alaska Pacific University) 12/12/1990
• Ben Lustgarten, Burlington, Vt., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 4/17/1992
• Adam Martin, Wausau, Wis., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 10/26/1994
• Scott Patterson, Anchorage, Alaska, (Alaska Pacific University) 01/28/1998

Women

• Sadie Bjornsen, Winthrop, Wash., (Alaska Pacific University) 11/21/1989
• Sophie Caldwell, Stratton Mountain, Vt., (SMST2) 3/22/1990
• Jessie Diggins, Afton, Minn., (SMST2) 8/26/1991
• Rosie Brennan, Park City, Utah, (Alaska Pacific University) 12/2/1988
• Ida Sargent, Craftsbury, Vt., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 1/25/1988
• Julia Kern, Waltham, Mass., ( SMST2) 09/12/1997
• Caitlin Patterson, Craftsbury, Vt., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 1/30/1990
• Rosie Frankowski, Minneapolis, Minn., (Alaska Pacific University) 7/30/1991

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast

Wednesday, Feb. 20
6:30 a.m. - Women's 5k qualifying - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com
8:00 a.m. - Men's 10k qualifying - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com
3:00 p.m. - Men's 10k and women's 5k - NBCSN*

Thursday, Feb. 21
6:00 a.m. - Men and women's sprint qualification - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com
8:30 a.m. - Women’s sprint finals - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
11:30 p.m. - Women’s sprint finals - NBCSN*

Saturday, Feb. 23
5:00 a.m. - Women’s 15k skiathlon - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. Men’s 30k skiathlon - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:30 a.m. Women’s 15k skiathlon - Olympic Channel-TV*
9:30 a.m. Men’s 30k skiathlon - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Feb. 24
5:30 a.m. - Men and women’s team sprint finals - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - Men and women’s team sprint finals - Olympic Channel-TV*
11:30 p.m. - Women’s team sprint finals - NBCSN*

Tuesday, Feb. 26
7:30 a.m. - Women's 10k - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com
1:00 p.m. - Women's 10k - NBCSN*

Wednesday, Feb. 27
8:00 a.m. - Men's 15k - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com

Thursday, Feb. 28
7:00 a.m. - Women's 4x5k relay - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com

Friday, March 1
7:00 a.m. - Men's 4x10k relay - - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com

Saturday, March 2
7:00 a.m. - Women's 30k - - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com

Sunday, March 3
7:00 a.m. - Men's 50k -- Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

It was a huge day for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team as Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) won Saturday’s FIS Cross Country World Cup sprint to lead six U.S. women into the top 30 in Cogne, Italy. Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) finished fourth to lead four U.S. men into the top 30.

Diggins advanced through the quarterfinal and the semi-final heats in the lucky loser position to advance to the finals. “Man I’m glad they do lucky loser.  Honestly, there have been lots of ups and downs this year, you don’t know what going to happen, but you have to believe in yourself and keep pushing the whole way.”

Three U.S. athletes qualified for the finals including Hamilton, and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.), who finishing in fifth.

“I was really thrilled to have finished fifth today,” said Bjornsen. “After a long camp of solid training in Davos, (Switzerland)  it feels good to know my plan to ‘focus my top form on the Championships’ is working out. Any time I make a sprint final means I’m in a place to fight for the podium. A few more days of sharpening up and a mind that is ready to dig even deeper is exactly what I was dreaming of for this time of year.”

Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.) posted a career-best World Cup result finishing 11th, followed by Sophie Caldwell (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) in 17th; Ida Sargent (Craftsbury, Vt.) 24th; Rosie Brennan (Anchorage, Alaska) 27th; and Kelsey Phinney (Boulder, Colo.) in 33rd.  Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.) was 23rd; Logan Henneman (Fairbanks, Alaska) 27th; and Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley, Idaho) 30th.

“Crazy racing out there today,” said Hamilton. “I think people expected less clustered racing because the course was quite hard and at altitude, but there was for sure some wild heats where the pack was just in constant contact with each other.  The final was tough… it’s always tricky coming from the second semifinal with such a short turnaround into the finals, but I’m proud of how I skied it and although fourth is a frustrating place to be, I think it’s a good sign leading into World Champs.”

Italian local Federico Pellegrino won the men’s race, followed by fellow countryman Francesco De Fabiani in second and Lucas Chanavat of France in third. Germany’s Sandra Ringwald was second behind Diggins, followed by Sweden’s Johanna Hagstroem in third.

The team has one final classic distance race in Cogne before heading to the World Championships in Seefeld, Austria, Monday.

RESULTS
Men’s sprint
Women’s sprint

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast

Sunday, Feb. 17
3:45 a.m. - Women’s classic 10k - Cogne, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:30 a.m. - Men’s classic 15k - Cogne, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Women’s SuperTour freestyle interval start - Minneapolis, Minn. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming
11:00 a.m. - Men’s SuperTour freestyle interval start - Minneapolis, Minn. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming
2:00 p.m. - Women’s classic 10k - Cogne, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV*

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships return to the forefront this week as Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.), already with one gold medal in her pocket from last week’s super-G, competes in giant slalom Thursday, and slalom Saturday.

Shiffrin will aim for a record fourth-straight slalom World Championship title Saturday, while she’ll take on giant slalom on Valentine’s Day - which she was a silver medalist in at the 2017 World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Shiffrin’s super-G win was her fourth world title, equalling Bode Miller in second-place among Americans. Only Ted Ligety (5) has won more World Championships titles. Paula Moltzan (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Nina O’Brien (San Francisco, Calif.) - who is making her World Championships debut - will join Shiffrin in the tech events.

Meanwhile, Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.), who has been posting numerous career-best results this season, will take on the giant slalom on Friday along with Olympic and World Champion Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah), Brian McLaughlin (Waitsfield, Vt.), and Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.). Cochran-Siegle was 11th in the super-G and 12th in the downhill last week, and his 1972 Olympic gold medal-winning mother, Barbara Ann Cochran, was here to watch him ski the second-fastest run in the downhill portion of Monday’s alpine combined.

NBC will offer live coverage of the World Championships Thursday through Sunday on four television and streaming platforms, including the NBC Sports Network, the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold.

Fresh off the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships, where U.S. athletes won 14 medals - five of them gold - the U.S. Snowboard and Freeski Teams head to Calgary, Alberta, for World Cup halfpipe competition. Qualifying takes place Wednesday and Thursday, with the snowboard finals Friday night, followed by freeski finals Saturday night. NBC will broadcast both finals live on the Olympic Channel and offer live streaming on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold.

FIS Freestyle World Cup aerials return to Moscow for a city event Saturday night. U.S. athletes have performed well in the Russian capital the past with Kiley McKinnon winning last year. Jon Lillis (Park City, Utah) was fourth in Moscow in 2017, and second in 2016.

Live streaming of the Moscow event will kick off at 11:30 a.m. Saturday on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold. A one-hour recap show will air on the Olympic Channel Saturday at 8:00 p.m. EST.

This weekend is the final FIS Cross Country World Cup in Cogne, Italy, before the 2019 FIS Cross Country World Championships kick off next week (Feb. 20-March 3.) in Seefeld, Austria. The U.S. Cross Country Team will be represented by 12 athletes, including Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.), Sophie Caldwell (Stratton Mountain, Vt.), Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) and Erik Bjornsen (Anchorage, Alaska) in Saturday’s freestyle sprint, and Sunday’s 15k classic for the men and 10k classic for women.

The Olympic Channel will broadcast Saturday’s sprint, while live streaming will be offered on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold. Sunday’s classic races will stream live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold, while a one-hour recap show will air on the Olympic Channel Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST.

World Cup start positions will be on the line in Minneapolis, Minn., this weekend with stop No. 5 of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard SuperTour, featuring freestyle sprint Friday, classic mass start Saturday, and freestyle interval start Sunday. All events are taking place in Wirth Park, site of the 2020 FIS Cross Country World Cup, and will be streamed live through U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s partnership with Central Cross Country.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

ALPINE
Thursday, Feb. 14
8:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s giant slalom run 1 - Are, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s giant slalom run 2 - Are, SWE - NBCSN, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Feb. 15
8:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s giant slalom run 1 - Are, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
11:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s giant slalom run 2 - Are, SWE - NBCSN, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 16
5:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s slalom run 1 - Are, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s slalom run 1 - Are, SWE - NBCSN*
8:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s slalom run 2 - Are, SWE - NBCSN OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s slalom - Are, SWE - NBC*

Sunday, Feb. 17
5:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s slalom run 1 - Are, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s slalom run 1 - Are, SWE - NBCSN*
8:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s slalom run 2 - Are, SWE - NBCSN OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

FREESKI
Saturday, Feb. 16
5:30 a.m. - Men and women’s skicross - Feldberg, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Calgary, Alberta, CAN - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 17
5:30 a.m. - Men and women’s skicross - Feldberg, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

FREESTYLE
Saturday, Feb. 16
11:30 a.m. - Men and women’s aerials - Moscow, RUS - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials - Moscow, RUS - Olympic Channel-TV*

CROSS COUNTRY
Friday, Feb. 15
10:45 a.m. - Men and women’s SuperTour freestyle sprint qualification - Minneapolis, Minn. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming
1:15 p.m. - Men and women’s SuperTour freestyle sprint finals - Minneapolis, Minn. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming

Saturday, Feb. 16
6:30 a.m. Men and women’s freestyle sprint - Cogne, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:45 a.m. - Men’s SuperTour classic mass start - Minneapolis, Minn. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming
11:50 a.m. - Women’s SuperTour classic mass start - Minneapolis, Minn. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming

Sunday, Feb. 17
3:45 a.m. - Women’s classic 10k - Cogne, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:30 a.m. - Men’s classic 15k - Cogne, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Women’s SuperTour freestyle interval start - Minneapolis, Minn. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming
11:00 a.m. - Men’s SuperTour freestyle interval start - Minneapolis, Minn. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming
2:00 p.m. - Women’s classic 10k - Cogne, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV*

SKI JUMPING
Friday, Feb. 15
9:45 a.m. - Men’s team event - Willingen, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:30 p.m. - Men’s team event - Willingen, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*

Saturday, Feb. 16
7:00 a.m. - Women’s individual - Oberstdorf, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:15 a.m. - Men’s individual - Willingen, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Women’s individual - Oberstdorf, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*
6:30 p.m. - Men’s individual - Willingen, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Feb. 17
7:00 a.m. - Women’s individual - Oberstdorf, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Men’s individual - Willingen, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - Women’s individual - Oberstdorf, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*
7:00 p.m. - Men’s individual - Willingen, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*

SNOWBOARD
Friday, Feb. 15
9:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Calgary, Alberta, CAN - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
12:00 a.m. - Men and women’s parallel giant slalom - PyeongChang, KOR - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 16
12:00 a.m. - Men and women’s parallel giant slalom - PyeongChang, KOR - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

The U.S. Men’s Junior Worlds Team took gold on Saturday in the 4x5k relay, the final event of the FIS Junior World Cross Country Championship in Lathi, Finland. The team of Luke Jager (APU/Anchorage, Alaska), Ben Ogden (UVM/Landgrove, Vt.), Johnny Hagenbuch (Sun Valley SEF/Sun Valley, Idaho) and Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars/Anchorage, Alaska) edged-out the second-place Russia by 3.8 seconds, and third-place Germany by 6.3 seconds.

This is the best Junior World Championship result of a U.S. Men’s Team, surpassing the silver medal won in Goms, Switzerland, in 2018.

Jager was the lead skier who skied very confidently with the font pack, injecting some of his own pace to start dropping teams and handed off to Ogden in a good position. Ogden pushed the pace stringing out the front group to just three. Hagenbuch skied a strong let putting Schumacher in a good position.

“I started a couple seconds behind Germany and Norway and caught them pretty quickly, which was nice, and just kind of tucked in with them,” said Schumacher.  “It was a six-person group about halfway through, then the German pushed the pace and started to break open the field and I just hung onto him and put in a surge around 3k. I cruised into first on the second to last downhill and then went super hard up the last hill, got a bit of a gap and held that to the finish. Overall every leg was so good and I couldn’t really imagine a better way of this going.”

The women’s team of Mara McCollor (Minneapolis Ski Club/ Plymouth, Minn.), Kendall Kramer (NSCF-FXC/ Fairbanks, Alaska), Sydney Palmer-Leger (Sun Valley SEF/Park City, Utah) and Novie McCabe (Methow Valley Nordic/Winthrop, Wash.) also had a strong result finishing fourth.  The race was won by Norway 1, followed by Russia 1 in second and Sweden in third.

RESULTS
Men’s 4x5k Relay
Women’s 4x3.3k Relay

Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) led the U.S. Cross Country Team with a 13th-place finish in the FIS Cross Country World Cup classic 10k individual start in Otepaa, Estonia, Sunday.

“I was really happy with my kick and I know I lost a lot of time on the flats, but I was happy with how I raced today,” said Diggins. “I was in the zone, pushing as hard as I possibly could and skiing technically better than years past. I’m still carrying some fatigue from the Tour (de Ski) so I need to rest a little more in the next few weeks, but I’m happy with where I’m sitting right now.”

Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah) was 27th and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) in 29th.

“I was pleased to wake up to new snow as I love slow, tough races, however, I really struggled to find skis that worked well on the uphills and were still fast on the downhills,” said Brennan. “I made the choice I thought was best, but it wasn't quite what I needed to be competitive today. I am happy to be back racing and my shape feels good so I am hopeful that things will improve from here.”

The women’s race was won in dominant fashion by Therese Johaug of Norway, with Ebba Andersson of Sweden in second and Russian Natalia Nepryaeva in third.

The men’s race was won by Finland’s Iivo Niskanen with Alexander Bolshunov of Russia in second and Didrik Toenseth of Norway completing the podium. Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash) was the top U.S. finisher in 30th in the men’s 15k.

RESULTS
Men’s 15k
Women’s 10k

HOW TO WATCH
*Same-day delayed broadcast
​​​​​​​
Sunday, Jan. 20
1:30 p.m. - Women’s 10k interval - Otepaa, EST - Olympic Channel-TV*

Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) led the U.S. Cross Country Team on Saturday in Otepaa, Estonia, with a 12th-place finish in the FIS Cross Country World Cup classic sprint. The race saw several falls and crashes that shook up the final results and most notably took out several of the strong Swedes.

“Today was a lot of fun, and I was really happy with how I skied,” said Diggins. “I ran out of gas a little in the second half of my semifinal, but given how stacked the semifinal one was, I’m taking a lot of confidence from today and in my classic sprinting. The steep herringbone technique on the big climb has always been a challenge for me, and I still have some work to do.”

The U.S. qualified five athletes for the finals, in part due to some fast skis from the wax techs. In addition to Diggins, the qualifiers included Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.), Ida Sargent (Craftsbury, Vt.), Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.).

“A bittersweet ‘day one’ of the classic weekend,” said Bjornsen. “After a qualifier that seemed a bit off, I went into the heats excited to find a better place and tried to hang in a smart position through the whole heat. As I came into the final corner, the tails of my skis got a little clicked by the Slovenian, which caused me to lose balance and find myself on the ground...not the way I had expected it.”

World Cup overall sprint leader Stina Nilsson of Sweden did not start the finals due to a potential injury opening the door for race winner Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway. Russian Natalia Nepryaeva was second with third going to Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist.

In the men’s race, neither Bjornsen or Newell advanced past the quarterfinals. The men’s race was dominated by the Norwegians who held five of the six start positions in the finals. World Cup overall leader Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway took the victory, followed by Alexander Bolshunov of Russia in second, and Norway’s Paal Golberg in third.

RESULTS
Men’s Sprint Finals
Women’s Sprint Finals

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast

Saturday, Jan. 19
3:00 p.m. - Men and women’s sprint - Otepaa, EST - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Jan. 20
3:30 a.m. - Women’s 10k interval - Otepaa, EST - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s 15k interval - Otepaa, EST - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:30 p.m. - Women’s 10k interval - Otepaa, EST - Olympic Channel-TV*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) has 12 FIS Ski World Cup victories at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and she’ll have three opportunities to add to that total when she returns to the World Cup circuit this week with a pair of downhills and a super-G at the Italian resort. NBC Sports Gold will provide exclusive live streaming of Vonn’s return on Friday at 6:00 a.m. EST. NBC Sports Network will rebroadcast Vonn’s return with a rebroadcast of the women’s downhill at 7:00 p.m. EST Friday.

Vonn was scheduled to race last week in St. Anton, Austria, but heavy snow canceled the downhill and super-G events. The canceled downhill is rescheduled for Friday at Cortina d’Ampezzo, while the super-G has yet to be rescheduled. “I was really excited to race this weekend in St. Anton,” Vonn posted on Instagram last week, “but even more excited that it was rescheduled for Cortina next weekend ... at one of my favorite venues.”

Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.), fresh off her latest World Cup giant slalom victory in Kronplatz, Italy, Tuesday, has indicated she will not participate in the Cortina downhill events but will be in the start house for Sunday’s super-G. Saturday and Sunday’s Cortina events, in addition to the men’s alpine combined, downhill and slalom in Wengen, Switzerland, will broadcast on the Olympic Channel, and stream live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold. The NBC Sports Network will also air a one-hour rebroadcast of the women’s downhill and super-G Sunday at 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST respectively.

Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.), who was third in FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls in Calgary, Alberta, last weekend, leads a highly-competitive U.S. Freestyle Team into the 2019 Putnam Freestyle Cup in Lake Place, New York, this weekend with FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls and aerials. NBC will air next-day broadcast of each event on Saturday and Sunday at 5:00 p.m. EST. Both Friday’s individual moguls and Saturday evening’s aerials will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and NBC Sports Gold.

Classic events highlight the FIS Cross Country World Cup circuit this weekend in Otepaa, Estonia, with a sprint scheduled for Saturday and women’s 10k and men’s 15k classic races Sunday. Both days will be streamed live on the OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold, with a re-broadcast each day on the Olympic Channel.

The FIS Snowboard World Cup Laax Open takes place in Switzerland this weekend with slopestyle and halfpipe events. Nineteen U.S. Snowboard Team athletes are participating, including Chloe Kim (Torrence, Calif.) and Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.). All events will be streamed live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold. The Olympic Channel will rebroadcast the slopestyle at 3:00 p.m. EST Friday, and air the halfpipe competition live at 11:30 a.m. EST on Saturday.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

ALPINE
Friday, Jan. 18
4:30 a.m. - Men’s alpine combined run 1 - Wengen, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. - Men’s alpine combined run 2 - Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN*

Saturday, Jan. 19
4:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
6:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill - Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 20
4:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1 - Wengen, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Women’s super-G - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2 - Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill - Wengen, SUI - NBCSN**
8:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN**
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN*

CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Jan. 19
6:55 a.m. - Men and women’s sprint - Otepaa, EST - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:00 p.m. - Men and women’s sprint - Otepaa, EST - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Jan. 20
3:30 a.m. - Women’s 10k interval - Otepaa, EST - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s 15k interval - Otepaa, EST - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:30 p.m. - Women’s 10k interval - Otepaa, EST - Olympic Channel-TV*

FREESTYLE
Friday, Jan. 18
11:00 a.m. - Men and women’s moguls - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBCSports.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 19
5:00 p.m. - Men and women’s moguls - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBC**
7:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBCSports.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 20
5:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBC**

NORDIC COMBINED
Friday, Jan. 18
6:00 a.m. - Men’s HS118 - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Men’s 5k - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 19
5:30 a.m. - Men’s HS118 - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:45 a.m. - Men’s 1-k - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 20
5:00 a.m. - Men’s HS118 - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s 15k - Chaux-Neuve, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

SKI JUMPING
Friday, Jan. 18
3:00 a.m. - Women’s individual - Zao, JPN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m. - Men’s individual qualifying - Zakopane, POL - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:30 p.m. - Women’s individual - Zao, JPN - Olympic Channel-TV*

Saturday, Jan. 19
3:00 a.m. - Women’s team - Zao, JPN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:15 p.m. - Men’s team - Zakopane, POL - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Women’s team - Zao, JPN - Olympic Channel-TV*
4:00 p.m. - Men’s team - Zakopane, POL - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Jan. 20
2:00 a.m. - Women’s individual - Zao, JPN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
12:10 p.m. - Men’s individual qualifying - Zakopane, POL - NBC Sports Gold
8:00 p.m. - Women’s individual - Zao, JPN - Olympic Channel-TV*
7:30 p.m. - Men’s individual qualifying - Zakopane, POL - Olympic Channel-TV*
 

SNOWBOARDING
Friday, Jan. 18
6:00 a.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle - Laax, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:00 p.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle - Laax, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV*

Saturday, Jan. 19
8:00 a.m. - Men and women’s parallel giant slalom - Rogla, SLO - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
11:30 a.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe - Laax, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) is back in action to kick off the first full week of 2019 World Cup action with a Tuesday evening slalom in Flachau, Austria. NBC Sports Gold will offer exclusive live streaming as Shiffrin goes for her eighth-straight World Cup slalom victory at 12 noon EST for the first run, and 2:45 p.m. EST for the second run.

The first speed events of the season for the women are also scheduled for this weekend in St. Anton, Austria, and Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.), has announced that she’ll start alongside her U.S. Ski Team teammates Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.). However, all are anxiously watching the weather forecast closely as snow is expected throughout the week. NBC Sports Gold will offer exclusive live streaming of both the downhill and super-G this weekend.

Though she is the current leader in the World Cup super-G standings, Shiffrin has stated she will not race in this weekend’s super-G and downhill in St. Anton, but does plan to return to speed next weekend in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

On the men’s side, giant slalom and slalom events are scheduled for Adelboden, Switzerland, Saturday, and Sunday. Leading the U.S. Ski Team will be Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.), Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) and Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.). The Olympic Channel will broadcast the second run both days, with live streaming of the first and second runs available on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold.

Fresh off the L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships, newly crowned classic sprint champion Ida Sargent (Craftsbury, Vt.) joins Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.), Hannah Halvorsen (Truckee, Calif.) Hailey Swirbul (El Jebel, Colo.), and Sophie Caldwell (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) for this weekend’s FIS Cross Country sprint and team sprint events in Dresden, Germany.

On the men’s side, Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.), Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley, Idaho), Erik Bjornsen (Anchorage, Alaska) and Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.) for sprint action in Dresden. Both days will be streamed live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold, with daily recaps broadcast on the Olympic Channel. The L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships also wrap up Tuesday in Craftsbury, Vt., with the freestyle sprint. Live streaming begins at 8:45 a.m. EST.

Freestyle kicks back into action with a FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls in Calgary, Canada, their first competition of the new year. Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.), hot off back-to-back first-place finishes in Thaiwoo, China, will be wearing the yellow leader's bib and leading her team into Saturday’s competition. The event will be broadcast live on the Olympic channel and streamed live on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold at 3:30 p.m. EST Saturday.

Font Romeu, France, is hosting the first FIS Freeskiing World Cup slopestyle of 2019, and U.S. Freeski Team members Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.), Devin Logan (Manchester Center, Vt.), and 2018 Olympic slopestyle silver medalist Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) are scheduled to compete. Live streaming will be available on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold, with a recap show airing on the Olympic Channel at 2:00 p.m. EST Saturday.

Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) leads the way for the U.S. Snowboard Team as the FIS Snowboard World Cup circuit continues with a slopestyle event in Kreischberg, Austria, Saturday and Sunday that will stream live exclusively on NBC Sports Gold.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup continues for both the men and women this weekend, with the men competing in a pair of HS135 events in Val di Fiemme, Italy, and the women competing in two HS137 events in Sapporo, Japan.

Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill.) will be the lone USA Nordic representative in Italy, while current Nordic Combined Continental Cup leader Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, Vt.) will be joined by Nita Englund (Florence, Wis.) and Nina Lussi (Lake Placid, N.Y.), who returns to international competition following a knee injury at last year’s Olympic Trials. OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold will provide live streaming of both events, with a recap show airing on the Olympic Channel Saturday and Sunday.

Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) continues to build form heading into this weekend’s FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Val di Fiemme, Italy, featuring a pair of individual events and a team event. Fletcher, who posted the fasted 10k freestyle skate in last Sunday’s World Cup, will be joined by USA Nordic teammates Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, Wis.) this weekend in Italy. All events Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be streamed on OlympicChannel.com and NBC Sports Gold.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

ALPINE
Tuesday, Jan. 8
12:00 p.m. - Women’s slalom run 1 - Flachau, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
2:45 p.m.  - Women’s slalom run 2 - Flachau, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 12
4:15 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1 - Adelboden, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:45 a.m. - Women’s downhill - St. Anton, AUT  - NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 2 - Adelboden, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 13
4:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1 - Adelboden, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:45 a.m. - Women’s super-G - St. Anton, AUT  - NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2 - Adelboden, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

CROSS COUNTRY
Tuesday, Jan. 8
8:45 a.m. - U.S. Cross Country Championships freestyle sprint - Craftsbury, Vt. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Streaming

Saturday, Jan. 12
7:15 a.m. - Men and women’s sprint - Dresden, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:00 p.m. - Men and women’s sprint - Dresden, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Jan. 13
6:40 a.m. - Men and women’s team sprint - Dresden, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:00 p.m. - Men and women’s team sprint - Dresden, GER - Olympic Channel-TV*

Monday, Jan. 14
12:00 a.m. - Men and women’s team sprint - Dresden, GER - NBCSN**

FREESKIING
Saturday, Jan. 12
4:20 a.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle - Font Romeu, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
2:00 p.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle - Font Romeu, FRA - Olympic Channel-TV*

FREESTYLE
Saturday, Jan. 12
3:30 p.m. - Men and women’s moguls - Calgary, Alberta - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

NORDIC COMBINED
Friday, Jan. 11
3:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:25 a.m. - Men’s 10k - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 12
3:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:05 a.m. - Men’s team sprint 7.5k - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 13
3:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:25 a.m. - Men’s 10k - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

SKI JUMPING
Friday, Jan. 11
11:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 qualifying - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 12
2:20 a.m. - Women’s HS137 - Sapporo, JPN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - Women’s HS137 - Sapporo, JPN - Olympic Channel-TV*
5:00 p.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV*
7:50 p.m. - Women’s HS137 - Sapporo, JPN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 13
10:55 a.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - Women’s HS137 - Sapporo, JPN - Olympic Channel-TV*
5:00 p.m. - Men’s HS135 - Val di Fiemme, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV*

SNOWBOARDING
Tuesday, Jan. 8
12:45 p.m. - Men and women’s parallel slalom - Bad Gastein, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Wednesday, Jan. 9
7:00 a.m. - Men and women’s team parallel slalom - Bad Gastein, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 13
6:30 a.m. - Men and women’s slopestyle - Kreischberg, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Jessie Diggin (Afton, Minn.) dug deep into the pain cave and wrapped up the FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour de Ski in sixth overall following the brutal 7th stage climb up the famed Alpe Cermis in Val di Fiemme - well known to be the toughest race of the entire season.

“Today, like yesterday, my body was feeling run down and incredibly tired,” Diggins said after finishing sixth in the stage that averaged 12-percent, with a few pitches reaching 28-percent. “But I was proud of my effort and for never giving up, fighting my way up that crazy mountain! It’s really hard to describe the bone-deep tired feeling you get when you’ve been pushing your body so hard for so long, and it’s insane how painful it is when you finally reach the top of the final climb. It’s also one of the most satisfying feelings in the world because you know you’ve just done something so amazingly hard.”

After winning the 6th stage of the Tour de Ski on Saturday, Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg held a 53-second lead over Russian Natalia Nepryaeva heading into the final stage. Østberg held off Nepryaeva for the stage win to secure the overall Tour de Ski title. Russia’s Anastasia Sedova was third.

Competing in seven races over a nine-day stretch is a true athletic achievement and the rewards list goes well beyond just finishing. For Diggins, the hard work she put in to reach this point of the season is not only mentally satisfying but physically she packed her bank of fitness, which will pay dividends the rest of the season.

“What I really wanted to get out of the Tour in the big picture was the fitness boost that I get every year from doing something so incredibly hard and then resting and recovering well,’ she said. “So for the next 13 days, my focus will be on resting up, enjoying my time with my family in Seefeld, and then preparing for Otepää (Estonia). I’m skipping Dresden (Germany) to make sure I absorb all the Tour races well, but I’m excited for the rest of the season, and super excited to cheer on our sprinters!”

Mentally, Diggins leaves the Tour satisfied with everything she left out on the track.

“The older I get, the easier it is to remember to look at the big picture and remember that what makes a “good” race is determined by factors you don’t see on the results board,” Diggins said. “And for me, I was really proud of this tour because I had a lot of “good” races where I raced with grit, determination, and fought like crazy to do the very best I could with what I had in my body.”

In the men’s race, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won the 7th stage to secure the overall title and the record as the youngest Tour de Ski winner in history. Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov finished second and Norway's Simen Hegstad Krüger was third. Ben Lustgarten was the only American still in the Tour finishing all seven stages.

RESULTS
Men’s 9k hill climb
Women’s 9k hill climb

STANDINGS
Men’s Tour de Ski - through 7 of 7 stages
Women’s Tour de Ski - through 7 of 7 stages