Cross-country skiing: Norwegian Emilie Fleten superior in Ski Classics: “A war in the head”

– I thought I would drive hard at the start and get sprint points and then I got a couple of seconds and then I had to make a decision whether to go for it or not. I went for it but thought several times: “Why do you want to torture yourself like this?” says Fleten to SVT Sport.

She was worried during the race even though the lead was stable for just over a minute and could only feel that the victory was under control at the end.

– It was a war in my head the whole time, but I felt that the distance on the last hill was big. It was nice to finally reach the finish line, says Fleten, who was out in 2.44.56.

Moa Lundgren sixth in debut

The Norwegian raced up the last stretch and was able to slide across the finish line smiling in the sparkling winter sun, where the setting with lots of snow and beautiful scenery was like taken from a tourist brochure.

Second in the race was Fleten’s Norwegian rival Anikken Gjerde Alnes, who was 1.31 behind.

World Cup rider Moa Lundgren, without her own team, made her debut in Ski Classics and finished sixth – four minutes behind Fleten.

– I really had to count bars one to 30 and then start over and really decide to find a back and hold on. I won over myself, says Lundgren about the test of strength.

Ida Dahl stood over: “Feeling better now”

Swedish star Ida Dahl suffered a setback after standing over Marcialonga due to illness two weeks ago and did not make the start.

– I feel better now, so that’s nice. I realized it was too early to go because I suffered a setback after Marcialonga. So I have to take it easy for now, said Dahl to SVT Sport before the race.

Norwegian also on the men’s side

There was also a Norwegian win on the men’s side where Kasper Stadaas secured first place after a strong run. There was a whole Norwegian podium as Andreas Nygaard came second and Johan Hoel came third. Oskar Kardin became the best Swede in his fourth place.

Tomorrow, a race over 13 km included in the Ski Classics will be run at the same location.