The 27-year-old was Norway's strongest medal hope ahead of the women's classic sprint in Val di Fiemme.
But when Linn Svahn (gold), Jonna Sundling (silver) and Maja Dahlqvist (bronze) picked up the pace in the final, Skistad had no chance. She was 30 seconds behind Svahn in fifth place.
"It was a demanding day for me," Skistad said in a few words in the mixed zone.
Skistad did not answer questions about her form.
I have no comment on that.
The Swedish national team coach Anders Byström saw firsthand how the Norwegian set the pace.
I stood on the hill and saw Skistad look up and see the Swedes disappear.
It looked like she gave up?
Yes, she did there, and you can understand that. It was that far up, and everyone did that except for those who won medals.
