Fleten crossed the finish line in 1:37.6, ahead of second-place Hanna Lodin of Sweden, and about 30 seconds ahead of third-place Anikken Gjerde Alnæs of Norway.
It was tough from start to finish. At the start there were no tracks, so I ended up a little further back and felt like I had to fight.
Suddenly it became a dilemma that the men's skiers were like a bottleneck where I wanted to go fast, and I almost wanted to cry because I felt on all the slopes that it was just standing still, and that's where I had planned to attack. And then I knew that our goal was to have the best skis at the start and I felt that I couldn't take advantage of that. Fleten said. Despite the tough start, she finished clearly first among the women.
This is the third time the 33-year-old has won Vasaloppet; she also won in 2023 and 2024.
At the start of the race, snow fell, making conditions difficult. Nothing scared Fleten, who told SVT that she "loved" this kind of weather.
I started to have doubts on the hill when there was such chaos. We were skiing at the same time as the men and suddenly people fell and there was chaos; it felt like then you don't love it. It was especially when I was skiing with the men's field, which was going so slowly, Fleten said.
Fleten also won the Italian long-distance classic Marcialonga in January. That race is 45 kilometers.
Last year's winner Stina Nilsson came fifth, just over four minutes behind Fleten.
