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Frida Karlsson is the big favorite to win the Tour de Ski.
But in the first sprint she already disappeared in the qualifiers.
A big miscalculation – which means that it is ready for the day.
Anna Dyvik was the best Swede in the prologue with a great time. She drove in as four, just under a second behind the qualifying Swiss Nadine Fähndrich. Just behind her, Johanna Hagström stopped.
– It’s good anyway. It was fun. Very funny. Good audience too, says Hagström.
But behind that, there was not much to cheer for from a Swedish point of view.
Frida Karlsson is certainly not a sprint specialist, but advancement from the prologue she had probably expected. But that did not happen, as Karlsson finished outside the top 30. It was a 34th place.
– It was surprising. It is a big miscalculation, says SVT’s expert Mathias Fredriksson.
– It’s a disappointment. She needed to take seconds here. Now it will be exciting in the summary, says Petter Northug in TV2
Nobbade media
Karlsson himself chose to nob interview with broadcasting SVT and other media after the race. She went through the mixed zone without comment.
She is supported by the latest Swedish Tour de Ski winner, Charlotte Kalla.
– It is close. Frida, we know what she can deliver and there are so many competitions left. This is only the first competition here. 10 kilometers tomorrow will suit her better, she calms down.
Neither Kalla nor Andersson further
The one who poked out of Karlsson was national team colleague Moa Lundgren, who became the third and last Swede to move on.
And it was not much more fun elsewhere. Neither Ebba Andersson (41st) nor Olympic-chasing Kalla (51st) are allowed to run the quarterfinals, as their time is not enough for promotion.
– Four seconds from moving on, it’s an eternity, says Kalla.
– I still experienced that the feeling in the body is good, but when it becomes such a tight race, I do not have the last push to be able to ride even faster, Andersson says in SVT.
Louise Lindström did not get it either.
– I do not know actually. It was the long way I competed so it was a bit unusual. It felt okay before and I tried to give it everything I had, she says.
The final session starts at 14:00.
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