With less than a month left until the Olympics in Italy, Elvira Öberg delivered a first-class performance.
It was enough for the season's first individual victory in the World Cup – and the fact is that the competitors were not even close to threatening Öberg.
Elvira Öberg won 21.1 seconds ahead of Suvi Minkkinen and a further two seconds ahead of France's Julia Simon, who was now on the podium for the first time after being convicted of credit card fraud.
By skiing fast, Öberg shook off a small sprint jitter, thanks in part to new routines she developed with her sports psychologist.
"I've been warming up and listening to an audiobook and not trying to think too much about the race. And during the race I didn't want to have any times until the sprint lap," she tells SVT.
Öberg describes it as her having previously "been a little too alone in her own head." In sprint races she has often overthought, unlike in pursuit races, for example.
"I rarely mess up when I'm on autopilot," she says.
Fast final lap
Minkkinen was certainly the fastest out of the second shooting - barely five seconds ahead of the Swede. But during the final lap, the Finn had nothing to offer Öberg, who finished with a completely different speed on the skis.
The 26-year-old Öberg was troubled by a couple of colds during World Cup competitions before Christmas, when her best results were two fifth places: the sprint in Östersund and the pursuit in Hochfilzen.
Now it seems the Christmas break has also done Elvira Öberg good in terms of her skiing form.
Anna Magnusson, who led the overall World Cup for a time, showed in Oberhof once again that she is at a higher level this season. Despite a crash, she finished eighth, almost exactly one minute behind Öberg at the finish.
Heijdenberg impressed
Anna-Karin Heijdenberg also impressed and strengthened her position in the fight for an Olympic spot. She finished tenth.
Hanna Öberg, Elvira's older sister, was good until the second shooting, but two misses there ruined her chances of a top finish; she finished 13th.
"I'm especially upset about the last shot. I think I should have been able to score that," she tells SVT.
Linn Gestblom also missed two shots and has yet to make it in an individual World Cup race since her comeback from injury; she finished 24th.
