“Plans have changed”

Leksand extended the winning streak beat AIK

One month left until the WC.
Then Frida Karlsson is forced to change after a heavy announcement.
– Now it’s about being smart, says her trainer Per Nilsson to TT.

Frida Karlsson is in great shape right now and when the ski WC starts in just over a month, she will go in as the big gold favorite in the distance competitions. Karlsson recently won the Tour de Ski as the first Swede since Charlotte Kalla 15 years ago, and her plan for the season has gone exactly as planned.

The nightmare message

The idea was now that Karlsson would embark on a heavier training period, but now she is forced to change her plans ahead of the championship, which is the big highlight of the season in the skiing world. The reason is that Karlsson has caught a cold, which means that she is forced to rest involuntarily, and that her plans are completely disrupted.

230107 Frida Karlsson of Sweden after women’s 15km mass start during Tour de Ski on January 7, 2023 in Val di Fiemme. Photo: Maxim Thore / BILDBYRÅN

Her trainer, Per Nilsson, tells TT that Karlsson would have completed a test on Sunday, on a treadmill, to see that the body was ready for heavy training. But it won’t be like that.

– Now it’s about being smart and not stressing. We take it day by day until it heals. Only then does she get started. Plans have changed, says Per Nilsson to TT.

READ MORE: Stina Nilsson’s honest words after the first competition weekend in the IBU Cup – praised after the successful race: “Wonderful Stina!”

“It’s boring”

Frida Karlsson first needs to recover from the cold, and then exercise more lightly for three days. After a rest day, Karlsson, on the fifth day after the cold has passed, can do the treadmill test. But you never know when it will be.

– I hope it doesn’t take too long, but a cold is a cold, says Nilsson.

230107 Frida Karlsson of Sweden after women’s 15km mass start during Tour de Ski on January 7, 2023 in Val di Fiemme. Photo: Maxim Thore / BILDBYRÅN

Frida Karlsson’s plan was to compete in the World Cup in France during the last weekend in January, but it “could be tight”, says Nilsson. However, her priority is to compete in Toblach on February 3-5, where the distances are the same as during the WC. Karlsson, however, feels reasonably calm, despite the illness.

– It’s boring. All skiers hate having a cold in the winter. But she had a good feeling before the cold, so it’s calm, says Nilsson, when asked how Karlsson feels mentally.

READ MORE: The Swedish national team’s decisive message to Linn Svahn about the World Ski Championships – the rock-solid demand: “It’s clear that…”

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