Vonn surprises Diggins at Tour de Ski finish in advance of World Cup downhill return

Lindsey Vonn was reminded on Sunday why she chose to be a downhill skier.

The American Alpine star joined some of her teammates in cheering on fellow U.S. Ski Team athletes during the final event of the Tour de Ski. The seven-stage World Cup cross-country ski competition concludes with a climb up the Alpine ski slope on Alpe Cermis.

“This is a ski slope that is meant to go downhill!” Vonn told U.S. Ski and Snowboard on Sunday. “It’s counterintuitive to go up! But this is incredible.” 

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Norwegian Therese Johaug won the 9-kilometer race in a time of 35 minutes, 59.0 seconds. The final 3.6-kilometer stretch averages an 11.6% gradient, topping out at 28% — the same steepness as the Champions mogul course at Deer Valley. American cross-country superstar Jessie Diggins finished sixth on Sunday, securing bronze in the overall tour standings.

“It was awesome,” Diggins told the Swedish outlet Expressen. “We really appreciated the cheering. All the Alpine girls here, just screaming for us.”

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Like Vonn, she is originally from Minnesota. The 33-year-old was the first American cross-country skier, along with Kikkan Randall, to win an Olympic gold in 2018 and also has two overall crystal globes to her name. After winning the opening two stages, Diggins battled through plantar fasciitis throughout the final days.

“An overall podium kind of happened against all odds,” she told U.S. Ski and Snowboard. “I learned to be tough in new ways and it was a huge thanks to the amazing team around me.”

“It was really fun to be here,” Vonn told Expressen. “I love being able to join and cheer on our girls. Jessie is so strong and tough.”

She and the U.S. speed squad have been training on the surrounding San Pellegrino Pass in preparation for the downhill events in St. Anton on Jan. 11-12. Saturday’s race will be Vonn’s first World Cup downhill in six years. The 40-year-old made her comeback official with a 14th-place finish in the super-G at St. Moritz on Dec. 21.

She labeled that race a “perfect start,” especially considering her conservative approach. She was the slowest skier through the opening split but posted the fourth- and fifth-fastest intervals at later checkpoints.

Though injuries forced her retirement in 2019, the 82-time World Cup winner decided a return was possible after a successful partial right knee replacement surgery in April.

“Not long after surgery, I noticed how drastically different my body was,” she told NBC last month. “So as soon as I felt like I was doing really well, I thought, ‘Well, if I can play tennis with no pain, if I can do all these athletic things with no pain, what would skiing be like?'”

She had her answer when she tested things out in July.

“I was just so excited because I had no pain. I didn’t feel it. It didn’t get swollen. The first day, I skied nine runs, and I hadn’t done that in forever, so immediately I knew this could be something,” she said. “To be able to ski without pain, it’s a completely new world for me. … I haven’t felt this good in 15 years.”

Keeping the comeback a secret proved difficult in the tightly-knit ski community, where summer slopes are few and far between. Vonn told NBC that her coach, Patrick Riml, took her on a snowmobile up a closed mountain in Austria for one practice.

“The lifts weren’t open. No one was there, so it was perfect,” she said. “I got to try it in complete secrecy.”

Vonn has not been secret about her ultimate ambitions: She’s hoping to make a fifth Olympic team in 2026.

“I do want to compete in Cortina, but I do have a long ways to go,” she said before adding that she’s “taking this season as a preparation for next season.”

“So, when I don’t win right off the bat, I hope people understand it’s not because I can’t,” she continued. “It’s because I’m working my way back in. I don’t need to take any risks right now. I need to stay on my feet, get some solid results, get some confidence, and get ready for next year.”

Vonn last competed in St. Anton in 2013 and won a downhill and super-G on back-to-back days in 2007. Both races this weekend began at 3:15 a.m. MST and will be broadcast on Peacock.