Jessie Diggins wins in final event before Minneapolis World Cup race

The big event happens next week, when Jessie Diggins will get to race in her long-awaited World Cup in Minneapolis. But the cross-country skier from Afton has been looking forward to the prequel in Canada, too.

Friday, Diggins kicked off her North American swing in the best possible fashion: with her fifth individual victory of the season. She overtook France’s Delphine Claudel in the final stretch to win a 15-kilometer freestyle in Canmore, Alberta. Diggins skied a superb tactical race, finishing in 40 minutes, 26 seconds to beat Claudel by 2.6 seconds.

The victory ties the U.S. record for most individual World Cup wins in a single cross-country season, held by Kikkan Randall. It also marked Diggins’ 10th individual World Cup podium finish this season. In addition to the five wins, she captured the Tour de Ski overall title.

Diggins leads the World Cup overall standings by 340 points over Sweden’s Linn Svahn and is bidding for the second overall crown of her career. She also tops the distance standings by 245 points.

The Canmore event continues with races Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday before the tour moves to Theodore Wirth Park. The Loppet Cup in Minneapolis includes freestyle sprints next Saturday, followed by freestyle 10-kilometer races on Feb. 17.

“That was very exciting,” Diggins told fis-ski.com after Friday’s race. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a very, very long time.

“I have a lot of family members out there: my parents, my grandma, my in-laws. It was so much fun to be able to race like that in front of them. I know they’d be proud of me no matter what, but I was hoping to be able to put on a show.”

The Canmore course was fast Friday, and Diggins said the U.S. technicians gave her perfect skis for the conditions. She raced strategically, moving to the front when bonus points were in play but otherwise biding her time.

Claudel took the lead in the final kilometer, but Diggins passed her on the last downhill and pulled away.

“I am in good shape, but Jessie is very, very fast in the finish,” Claudel said. “I am happy to be second today.”