PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The Swedes did not meet the high expectations of the Tour de Ski.
But there was still much that impressed in the Swedish national ski team.
– We are proud to do that, national team manager Anders Byström admits to Radiosporten.
Ahead of the year’s big highlight in the skiing world – the Tour de Ski – expectations were high for the Swedish national team skiers. Especially among the ladies, where the talk was mainly about total victory for both reigning champions Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson.
Svahn impresses
But when the Tour de Ski finished on Sunday with the mighty climb up Alpe Cermis, there wasn’t even a Swedish skier on the podium. The American Jessie Diggins took home the overall victory after an impressive display, second was the Norwegian Heidi Weng and third came the Finn Kerttu Niskanen.
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Karlsson finished first in fourth place, closely followed by Jonna Sundling in fifth place and Lynn Svahn in sixth place while Andersson was forced to break and go home early. There Svahn was the one who impressed the most by dominating the sprint races and winning three of seven stages during the mini-tour.
Byström’s tribute
When the Swedish national team manager Anders Byström may sum up the blue-and-yellow effort at the Tour de Ski, it is above all a Swede that he highlights. And it is not Frida Karlsson who comes fourth and just misses the podium.
– We have some victories and podium places. It is Linn Svahn that you want to raise, she wins three of the stages and that is extremely strong, he admits to Radiosporten.
– In addition, that all men complete, we are proud that we do. There is probably no other team that does that, I think. So that’s good!
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On the men’s side was Jens Burman best Swede with an eighth place. But Byström also gets to put his finger on what was worst about this year’s edition of the Tour de Ski.
– The dark headline? Oh, there are a lot of diseases and many who have broken. For the tour in general, it is not good, there we have to work together with Fis to make the tour even better, he says to the radio channel.
What do you think of the Swedes’ performance in the Tour de Ski? Share the article and have your say!
READ MORE: Linn Svahn’s big criticism – against the strange pictures immediately after the Tour de Ski: “Not appropriate”
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