Emotions ran high after the start of the hunt in Ruka two years ago. After the superior Therese Johaug, four Swedes and two Russians fought for two podium places. Maja Dahlqvist and Linn Svahn fell and Ebba Andersson came third after the Russian Tatiana Sorina. Frida Karlsson finished fourth.
After the race, Linn Svahn publicly declared that Ebba Andersson caused the fall. This made Ebba Andersson furious, which was depicted in an SVT documentary about the Swedish national skiing team. There she said:
— I’m damn disappointed in my teammates – or no, by the way, I can’t even call them friends.
On Sunday morning, it’s time for a new hunt start, 20 kilometer freestyle, with Swedish women in the tight pack.
— We have added that (the event two years ago) to history and hopefully we have learned something from it. I hope it will be a somewhat happier day than it was two years ago, says Ebba Andersson.
Maja Dahlqvist adds:
— Now we have to have a little more ice in our stomachs.
Tactics meeting
The situation is as follows. Ebba Andersson starts 5.7 seconds ahead of Frida Karlsson. Maja Dahlqvist is 31 seconds behind and Moa Ilar is 41 seconds behind.
On Saturday evening, the Swedish women’s team had a tactics meeting to avoid the scenes of two years ago. National team manager Anders Byström believes that there will be a balance between the self and the team:
— We have talked so much about this. This year we do it for each other. We want to win the national cup. Then we won’t destroy each other.
Have respect
Maja Dahlqvist highlights things that are important to consider:
— You must have respect for each other and let each other into the ranks and still feel that you can use each other.
She continues:
— You can have a plan A about how everyone goes. I may not be up and running, but I want to sprint. Ebba and Frida want to pull and not sprint. It applies somewhere that everyone gets the most out of themselves without stressing.
Ebba and Frida together
In Saturday’s meeting, all participating women’s racers first had to present their view on how the tactics should be laid out – individually and in the team. After that, the overall tactics were coordinated by the leaders.
— But we have an advantage compared to other nations because we have different tools in the box, says Anders Byström.
Ebba Andersson thinks the race will be like this:
— I expect that she (Frida Karlsson) will be in the race. After that, it’s about maintaining calm and control in your riding and giving what you have for the day.
Frida Karlsson has her picture ready before the start of the hunt:
— Ebba and I should benefit from the fact that things go quickly from the start. It feels like the two of us are mostly towards distance and endurance. We get to drive as a team and then settle the riot.