Kardin won despite a ski drama just under a third of the way into the race.
The Ski Classics skier was seen on SVT's broadcast pointing at his ski to signal to his team, Lager 157 Ski Team, that something was wrong with it.
"I got a pole right through the ski. I saw the pole was sticking right through it, felt how it was lying and breaking and thought 'damn, I need new skis.' Then I didn't know if I was getting a replacement; I tried to make it just right," says Kardin about the situation.
Got Alvar's reserve
After a while, Petter Myhlback, father of Alvar Myhlback, ran along the track and delivered a left ski to Kardin. He went out to the outer track and changed the ski mid-race.
"I was told by Petter that he had Alvar's second pair as a spare. I thought it would be better than the broken one I had," says Kardin.
The Vasaloppet victory is perhaps only the second-biggest thing to happen to Oskar Kardin this year. In January, the 34-year-old became a father for the first time.
"Now I can end my career and be satisfied; it's fantastic," he says.
Paying tribute to teammates
The top five on the men's side were all riders for Team 157.
Alvar Myhlback came in second, four seconds behind Kardin. Nils Dahlsten came in third after a sprint duel with the 19-year-old.
"It's such luck. It was crazy when I won last year, but to get a triple with the team, it's incredible. I'm so happy for Nils and Oskar. Nils has helped me so much throughout my career and then I get to share the podium with him now."
– "It's clear that I want to win myself and I had the body for it today, but it almost doesn't matter when it's like it is," says Myhlback.
“Absolutely unbelievable”
A rider from Team 157 has now won Vasaloppet four years in a row.
"The team we have, it's unbelievable. My first year in Team 157, our goal was to win Vasaloppet on the men's side; we had never managed it before. Now we've managed it four years in a row. You have to pinch yourself, it's unbelievable," says Myhlback, who has now finished in the top three in Vasaloppet for the past three years.
"That's absolutely crazy."
