Ebba Andersson, the double champion of the World Championships in Planica, says that she is aiming for the Tour de Skille in the coming season.
The training camp of the Swedish cross-country team in Torsby, Varmland, in early August had to be interrupted after a couple of days, when six athletes fell ill with a sore throat at the same time.
– This suggests that the athletes have been infected at approximately the same time, the doctor of the national team Rickard Noberius evaluate.
The names of the sick have not been made public, but the double champion of the World Championships in Planica Ebba Andersson told Expressen on Wednesday that he was one of the victims of the flu at the camp.
– It was sick that we all woke up with a sore throat within an hour, Andersson said.
The skiing star, who stayed in a single room and used his own car, wonders how the disease spreads.
– At first I thought that at least the others wouldn’t get sick. After talking with our doctor, I realized that many people are in the same boat.
– I have never experienced anything like it. That’s how many people got sick at once.
Andersson survived the disease with a two-day training break.
– Training still needs to be lightened. You can’t press all the way right away. Even a small runny nose can be devastating for a skier.
The starting points of the camp were difficult even before the illnesses, because the Hans storm was ravaging Sweden at the time. The team’s doctor, Noberius, thinks that the watery conditions could have led to illnesses.
– The conditions were not the most glorious. It was a lot of persistence, Andersson described.
I aimed at the Tour
According to Andersson, the training season has gone quite well. He told SVT having suffered from stomach problems.
– It is still a bit unclear what it was. I know it was some kind of infection related to certain parts of the stomach. It bothered me for a while, but the problems went away quickly.
The cross-country skiing world cup starts at the end of November in Ruka. There are no prestigious races planned next season, but the 26-year-old Andersson says he wants success at the Tour de Ski.
– At some point, I have to succeed in the World Cup overall, but now the Tour is my big goal. I’ve been third and second once, but never first. It would be great to be the third Swedish woman to win the Tour.
Charlotte Kalla won in the 2007–2008 season and Frida Karlsson over the best in last season’s race, from which Andersson had to withdraw due to corona infection.