Last year it was a victory by two and a half minutes for Emilie Fleten who pulled away from the competitors between the third and fourth control. This year she hit the next straight and was leading by 21 seconds at the first check and 1 minute 19 seconds at the second.
– A tough day. I had to fight from start to finish with this bait, says Fleten.
– I felt on the first hill that it was incredibly heavy and thought “if this is the feeling you have to have all the way, then you have to dig”. So I had to pick myself up mentally and push the first two miles. Then there was a gap and then it was just a matter of driving on.
Speared during the race
With 42 kilometers to the finish line in Mora, Fleten was a full 3 minutes and 52 seconds ahead of runner-up Magni Smedås and third-place Kati Roivas.
The Norwegian, who vomited during the race, finished in 4.23.06.7 and took his second straight victory in the Vasaloppet.
– I don’t know what to say. It is great to stand here again with the wreath. It means a lot, says Fleten.
“Unique to lie so high up”
SVT’s expert Anders Blomquist paid tribute to the Norwegian who finished in 78th place overall in the race.
– Unique to be so high up in the men’s class. And better than the vast majority of elite investing gentlemen too, he says.
It became Norwegian also in second place through Smedås who was 2.52.7 after Fleten. Third was Roivas, who was 3.24.9 behind the winning time.
Swedish Ida Dahl was third initially but was passed by Roivas after just over three miles. Dahl lost further during the race and was fifth, 16 minutes and 21 seconds behind Fleten.
The best Swede was Karolina Hedenström in fourth place – 15.57 behind the Norwegian.
