Photo: Bildbyrån
Norwegian Kristine Stavås Skistad has had a difficult start to the season after her stomach operation.
She is also known for being very secretive and doesn’t talk much to the press, so not many people know how she is doing.
– Everyone is different and that is her way, you have to accept it, says Viaplay expert Anna-Karin Strömstedt to Sportbibeln.
Before the season, she was painted as the big threat to our Swedish sprint stars. But Kristine Stavå’s Ski City25, had her start to the season ruined when it was suddenly announced that she would undergo stomach surgery just a week or so before the World Cup opener in Ruka, Finland.
Stavås Skistad misses the Tour de Ski
She was certainly back very quickly, already for the second competition weekend in Lillehammer. There, however, she was washed out in the sprint and already went out in the quarter-finals. She withdrew from the third sprint in Davos. Now it is also clear that she is not part of the Norwegian squad that will run the Tour de Ski over the New Year.
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It is unclear what her physical status is at this time. Stavås Skistad has always been a bit of a mystery and she rarely speaks out in the media.
– It is difficult to say anything about it, because not many people know much about her. Now that she has had this stomach surgery, very few people know what has really happened. There is a lot of mystery around her which means that you know very little. It also creates a little extra tension, of course. It’s her way and you have to accept that. It’s very different compared to how many others are then, says Viaplay’s ski expert Anna-Karin Strömstedtwho has been living in Norway for many years, to the Sportbibeln.
Stavås Skistad’s absence hurts Norway
Now Strömstedt tells us a little more about how they see Stavås Skistad in their home country of Norway. Even there, people have the image of her as a bit of an odd bird, but so far they have let her be because she really performed at the competitions. She likes to be by herself and train by herself, she doesn’t want to stand out and open up to everyone.
– She has been very clear that she was in the national team and it hasn’t worked, she wants to run her own system and you have to accept that. She’s still lucky enough to be able to do it without someone deciding it’s not okay. She is still in the national team, even if she is not seen there, she says.
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Anna-Karin Strömstedt believes that it would have benefited the other Norwegian skiers to have Kristine Stavås Skistad with them in the team, because it would raise the level of the training. It is a small disadvantage for Norway, of course.
– The others in the team would probably have needed to have her along sometimes to get sparring and to see what she does and what they could do better. It is of course a shame that she is not involved and contributing in that way. Everyone is different and that is her way, you have to accept it, she says.
Everyone is very curious about Kristine Stavå’s Skistad, but there are not many people who know her very well. She is truly a mystery. We will see how she does now after the New Year, as she is not in the Tour de Ski. But she will probably find her form just in time for the WC.
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