On the penultimate stage of the Tour de Ski, a 15 km long joint start in the classic in Val di Fiemme, the runners were met by a violent snowstorm. That made it very difficult to pull on the rest of the field. Frida Karlsson took on the job as a sled dog, and dragged a group of around 20 runners with her. – The job she does is bone-chilling, commented Fredrik Aukland during the race. But the snowy weather meant that the hatch never became quite large. Time and again, Karlsson’s earned seconds were eaten up. EXHAUSTED: Frida Karlsson hangs with the jeep after the finish line. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – Worn out what I had About halfway through the race she was fed up. Then Karlsson turned towards the field and delivered a couple of glares in the direction of the German runners in the lead. – I struggled with what I had today, says Karlsson to Viaplay. To news, the Swede elaborates on what happened. – The feeling was that if someone else had contributed, the field would have cracked. But everyone gets by with what they have. – A bit frustrating? – Yes a little. But I feel energetic, replies Karlsson. Superski But there was no help to be had. Karlsson has a certain understanding of that. – If we have had a bit of a problem with the material at times during this tour, then we have to pay tribute to the team today, we had very good stuff. It was probably difficult for the others to do so much too, she says. Thus, in the end, it was a unified field that reached the finish line. Frida Karlsson lost the sprint against teammate Linn Svahn. – It’s hard when Frida drives. If I had been stronger, I could have helped. But my strengths are driving towards the end. What’s more: if there had been other circumstances, she might have been dismissed, says Svahn to Viaplay. Don’t panic – They didn’t panic, Torgeir Bjørn said as the runners reached the finish line. In the uphills, overall leader Jessie Diggins and Heidi Weng had several terrible misses, which meant that they could not quite keep up when Sweden’s Frida Karlsson turned on the turbo. Weng finished in ninth place, but Linn Svahn was no more than 7.9 seconds behind. On the normally fast run, she was the only runner who had to switch to a diagonal gait – a clear sign that the glide was not optimal. – I think it was hard, I have to admit it, she says to news. – A bit of a bad slide? – Yes, I had no advantage from coming from behind either, so I try to stay behind as much as possible to save energy. IN TET: Jessie Diggins in tet during Saturday’s chase start in the Tour de Ski. The American seemed to have varying parties. Photo: Alessandro Trovati / AP – Everything is possible Weng notes that the Swedes won the smearing battle this time. She believes that this is the explanation why no one else wanted to go. – When the Swedes have such good skis, I think they have to take responsibility, so to speak, she says. Before Sunday’s final climb up Alpe Cermis, the standings in the Tour de Ski are: 1. Jessie Diggins, 2. Jonna Sundling (+43), 3. Frida Karlsson (+44), 4. Kerttu Niskanen (+44), 5. Linn Svahn (+58) and 6. Heidi Weng (+1.03). On the final stage, Weng is perhaps the biggest favourite. – There is hope for second place here overall, says Torgeir Bjørn. However, Heidi Weng aims even higher: – Everything is possible, she says to news.
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Swedish Grand Slam on penultimate leg – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
