Anchorage skiers Rosie Brennan and Kikkan Randall missed scoring World Cup points by less than four seconds in a 10-kilometer freestyle race Sunday in Ostersund, Sweden.
Brennan placed 32nd and Randall 33rd, the third and fourth Americans in the race. Jessie Diggins of Minnesota led the United States in 17th place.
In the men's race, Anchorage's Erik Bjornsen finished 60th, second among Americans.
It was the final race before the World Championships, which begin Thursday in Falun, Sweden. For Randall, who along with Diggins is the defending world champion in the team sprint, it was the second race since her return to World Cup competition after a month-long break inspired by sub-par results.
"While the pace was not as aggressive as I had hoped to find today, the feelings were a lot more positive than earlier in the season," Randall said in an email. "This confirms that my preparation over the past month has been productive. Now it's just a matter of getting my body back into race mode."
The world championships will be streamed live at http://usskiteam.com/news/nordic-worlds-live-usa.