It was during the warm-up that Burman felt something strange in his body.
I felt weird and very slow all of a sudden. But it was just imagination. It went really well. It was probably just a troll, he laughs.
He was never close to throwing in the towel.
I thought I'd start and see what was going on. You never know. And it was lucky I did, he says.
For Burman, it was seventh place and thus the best Swedish result.
I'll take it as a very good premiere for my part here in Ruka. It's the best result I've had here so far. For my part, it's a good season opener, notes the 30-year-old.
Home victory: "I'm happy for him"
He was 37.2 seconds behind Finnish winner Iivo Niskanen, who got to celebrate in front of a lyrical home crowd.
I'm happy for him. It's cool that it's not a Norwegian victory, says Burman.
Calle Halfvarsson – who missed the Swedish premiere last weekend due to back problems – finished 12th.
I didn't get to compete in the premiere, so I'm pretty satisfied with this. As long as I get my back in order, it'll be fine, he says.
How's your back?
I held back and got a bit short of breath and didn't dare push it. But when I finally got into it and got really warm, I didn't think about it at all, says Halfvarsson.
Poromaa: "Wasn't good"
William Poromaa also missed last weekend's national premiere. For him, it was a cold that caused trouble. He finished 25th and wasn't particularly pleased afterwards.
At the same time, it's nice to be underway, even if it wasn't a good competition, he says.
Niskanen won with a 12.5-second margin to last season's overall World Cup winner, Harald Østberg Amundsen. Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget became third, while star Johannes Høsflot Klæbo had to settle for fourth place.
