PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Therese Johaug is back on the ski slopes again.
Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson have really experienced that.
Now SVT expert Mathias Fredriksson points out the biggest threat to the Norwegian.
The season opener at the World Cup has mostly come to be about who can hit Therese Johaug. She is back again with a clear message after a two-year absence.
Johaug’s comeback
The Norwegian skiing queen had a tough start to her comeback during the premiere weekend in Finnish Ruka. Where she was defeated by both Frida Karlsson and Jessie Digginsbut when the World Cup reached Norwegian Lillehammer, Johaug showed his full capacity.
READ MORE: Therese Johaug’s sneer at all Swedish rivals says it all
She took home both the 10km and the skiathlon in grand style, showing the entire skiing world that she is seriously back.
– Based on old tests, I am perhaps a little below my best level. But I’m heading in the right direction, says Johaug about his current form.
Frida & Ebba threaten
That is enough to convince the SVT expert Mathias Fredrikssonwho was already sure before the season that Johaug would dominate despite a two-year absence.
– Then she is the best, then there is no one who comes close to those tests. She doesn’t have to be one hundred percent to win. She was so good before her break, he tells the TV channel.
– She will win many competitions this winter.
READ MORE: Frida Karlsson hits back after Therese Johaug’s cheeky pass
Fredriksson then points out the two Swedes Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson as the biggest threats. Where Frida has the highest level in her.
– I think they have keyed in and if there is someone who will beat Johaug this winter, it will be Ebba Andersson or Frida Karlsson. I think what Frida did last winter at the five-mile in Holmenkollen was very high level. So Johaug should not be completely sure that she can go and parade home the WC gold in the five mile in Trondheim. Because Frida Karlsson will challenge, says the SVT expert.
– But I still think that Johaug is so good that she will win.
But of course it will be tough for Frida and Ebba to make up with Johaug during the winter.
– They’ve got the toughest competitor imaginable back, so it will be extremely demanding of them to match or beat Johaug. But I think they are prepared to do the job because they have a very almost inhumanly, tough task to beat her, he says in his analysis.
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