Last World Cup season’s sprint decider was highly dramatic and gave rise to a moral discussion within cross-country skiing.
After breaking the pole, Maja Dahlqvist looked set to go out in the quarter-finals in Lahtis and thus miss out on first place in the overall sprint cup. But thanks to national team colleague Moa Ilar stopping during the race, Dahlqvist was able to drive past and subsequently secure the championship title.
The jury in place chose to punish Ilar for unsportsmanlike behavior – but at the beginning of October, the international skiing federation Fis decided that similar behavior should not be tolerated in the future.
– We were informed last autumn that there had been a vote in Fis whether it was right to wash her or not – and Fis thought it was wrong. Even though we already knew what we thought and Moa said she would do the same thing again, it was nice to get it on paper – that she actually didn’t do anything wrong, says Maja Dahlqvist and adds:
– In any case, I was happy to have such a teammate.
Moa Ilar and Maja Dahlqvist during the Swedish Skiing Association’s kick-off meeting. Photo: Maxim Thoré/Bildbyrån
The reactions after Moa Ilar’s measures were mixed. From many, not least the teammates in Sweden, she was praised for her selflessness, while others thought it was “very badly done”, Moa Ilar told Viaplay afterwards.
Linn Svahn, champion in the 2019-2020 Sprint Cup, think it’s part of the sport to drive as a team.
– It is an individual sport, but you still benefit from a team. This is how it is in most individual sports. It is an advantage to have a strong team at your back, she says and asserts:
– There have always been tactical runs at all times.
Although it was obvious that Moa Ilar slowed down for Maja Dahlqvist’s sake in Lahti, it is difficult to regulate what is tactical driving and what is not, according to distance specialist Frida Karlsson.
– I see it as obvious that it should be allowed. You can never tell what is team driving. Where is the limit? It becomes a gray area and you cannot have such rules.
Frida Karlsson and Linn Svahn both think that team driving should be allowed. Photo: Petter Arvidson/Bildbyrån
Is it something you could imagine doing – letting Ebba Andersson out in a final sprint in a distance race if she has a chance of an overall victory and you don’t?
– Yes absolutely. If it is pronounced. This time it was stated that Maja went for the sprint cup. If it were to be stated that Ebba is going for something that I have no chance at, then you have to take care that you have a strong team.
That it would be against the sport’s idea that, like Moa Ilar, not do her best to cross the finish line first, Maja Dahlqvist doesn’t care much.
– I don’t give my all all the time, but it’s tactical during the race, you don’t have the plate in the carpet from the start. It is a disposition. So it’s a very strange argument, I think, she says and continues:
– It is not the first time we drive tactically. It happens all the time. On a mass start or a sprint, when time doesn’t matter, I can let a Swede in earlier in the race to help.
The World Cup starts in Finnish Ruka on November 24.
Read more: The message to Moa Ilar after the victory: “I’m not mad at her”
2023-11-21 18:01:21
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