Klæbo was, as usual, superior in the final sprint of the skiathlon race on Sunday. But that doesn't worry a 19-year-old Olympic debutant from Bjursås.
"It was a joke. Now we're going to go classic, so it doesn't scare me that much," Myhlback tells the Swedish press corps ahead of the sprint competitions in Val di Fiemme.
The confidence is there – albeit in combination with the knowledge of how good Klæbo is, not least in his uphill climbs.
On that slope... he's been superior there for as long as he's been skiing. So it's going to take a lot for me to be able to keep up with him. But that's my goal," says Myhlback.
Double-poling or not?
Last year he won the entire Vasaloppet at the age of 18. This year he started by taking his first podium in the World Cup when he came third in the classic style in Trondheim in early December.
Just like then, he is now probably racing unseeded and aiming to advance.
I think it's possible to ski fast. Above all, I think you can get into a fast position very quickly from the top and in, if you have fast skis without grip wax.
One uncertainty has been whether the race management will choose to set up a no-double-poling zone somewhere on the course. That probably won't happen – and that's a good thing, according to Myhlback, who likes to double-pole as much as possible.
It's an opportunity for me to actually reach my full potential and we'll see who can actually go the fastest for the day.
He has practiced a lot.
We have a double-poling machine here at the hotel, so I've been enjoying it quite a bit. I've spent a couple of days with quite a few hours," says Myhlback.
“Many are afraid”
National team captain Anders Byström is fascinated.
That boy, you never know. He could be extremely good, but it could also go the other way. I think a lot of people are afraid of him. It's a fun one to go into," says Byström.
And if only Klæbo - 29 years old and with six Olympic gold medals and 15 World Championship gold medals - is a human hill, a fight is promised.
I want to believe that it is possible to beat him. If you can match him up the hill over the crest, I am not afraid of him in a sprint," says Alvar Myhlback - 19 years old and Olympic debutant.
Wiktor Nummelin/TT
Facts: Swedish Olympic team in sprint
TT
Sweden will field the following men's quartet in Tuesday's Olympic sprint in classic style:
Edvin Anger, 23, Olympic debutant, World Championship bronze in relay and sprint relay 2025
Anton Grahn, 21, Olympic debutant
Johan Häggström, 33, Olympic fourth in relay 2022, World Championship fourth in relay 2021, World Championship sixth in relay 2023
Alvar Myhlback, 19, Olympic debutant
