Johanna Hagström won in Ruka, Finland last year and impressed this year all the way to the final. She was fastest in qualifying and then won both her quarter-final and semi-final.
Once in the final, however, Hagström had to settle for fourth place. Stavås Skistad took a hold of the victory on the last hill and was then able to hold off the Swedes relatively easily on the run. Jonna Sundling came in second and Maja Dahlqvist third.
The Norwegian was pleased after the victory and was never worried, despite Hagström's impressive start to the day.
"No then. I just trusted myself. It turned out perfect. It's absolutely wonderful to beat them, I just enjoy it," she says.
“We'll take her later”
The Norwegian's satisfaction reached the blue and yellow skiers.
"We'll take her later, so it's calm. We're looking for revenge," says Johanna Hagström.
Maja Dahlqvist wanted to have an all-Swedish team on the podium, but admits that the Norwegian is a very respected opponent.
"Yes, but it's clear that it's annoying that she won. But we know how strong she is. We'll simply wrestle her down next weekend," says Dahlqvist.
The runner-up in the final, Jonna Sundling, answered the question of whether she had time to perceive any possible mood swings from Stavås Skistad before the final.
No, I didn't see any of those, I thought it was a good atmosphere, but maybe I'm naive.
Emma Ribom advanced from the qualifiers as the 30th and last skier – with a margin of one hundredth. Once in the quarterfinals, the Swede impressed and won her heat ahead of Stavås Skistad.
“Emotional storm”
A moment later, the news came that Ribom was being washed.
"So sad that I couldn't go on," she says.
Ribom received a yellow card for taking skates in an illegal manner during the classic race. She had a warning coming into this competition, from the Swedish premiere in Gällivare, and a second yellow card means the Swede is disqualified.
"It's been a real emotional storm today. I think I did some great skiing and I think I had more to go with today," says the 28-year-old.
She herself doesn't remember where she got her unauthorized skates.
"I haven't seen anything yet, so I don't know," she says.
