The route of the famous race had to be shortened by five kilometers due to the danger of avalanches. Larsson escaped half a sixty-kilometer portion ago, and none of her opponents was able to take her premier victory. With a huge lead of three and a half minutes, she reached the finish line in front of compatriot Lina Korsgren.
Sad, she did not follow in the footsteps of the year before last and lost almost ten minutes at the finish. “I have to say that I didn’t do well, but I have to be satisfied. I didn’t know what to expect at all, I didn’t race for ten months. In addition, the frost was extreme. But I had excellent skis and thanks to them I managed to win fifth place,” she said. Sad.
“Katka completed a very good race and I am glad that she managed to make it to the fifth to tenth place in the group. I take it as a great start to the season,” said Bauer, whose service team is led by former elite team member Ladislav Rygl.
Like his compatriot Larsson, Kardin celebrated for the first time in his career. He ran almost four minutes on the defending champion in the series, Andreas Nygaard. Tthe third was Petter Eliassen and Tord Asle Gjerdalen finished below the podium.
Pliska from the Silvini Madshus team reached the finish line more than thirteen minutes behind Kardin. Other Czech runners Fabián Štoček, Jan Šrail (both Vltava Fund) and Václav Sedláček compared from 37th to 39th place.
