It was two parts to the men’s race at the Smart Energy Cup, before and after the rain. “It felt decent,” says William Poromaa, who won 17 seconds ahead of Eric Rosjö.

After a sunny afternoon in Falun, Sweden, the rain began to pour down halfway into the men’s competition. That changed the conditions, and one of the top skiers who was most “affected” was Mora’s Eric Rosjö, who had to race three of the four laps in sometimes heavy rain:

“The weather does not speak to me directly. There is a clear difference when it starts to rain, so you feel that it goes a little slower, and then you have to pay attention to the curves because it gets slippery. But I’m happy. I got a really good interval,” says Rosjö, who finished second, 17 seconds behind the winner William Poromaa, who, like the women’s winner Ebba Andersson, had no great hopes at yesterday’s press conference.

“It felt decent, and honestly, I was not super-tagged. But it was mostly because I knew it would be difficult,” says Poromaa.

How far did you get before it became difficult then?

“Yes, it was probably straightforward (and laughs). I planned to start intense. And I’m happy to feel that I’m in the process of training towards the summer,” says Poromaa.

The third was the home skier Anton Persson. And just off the podium came the super talent Alvar Myhlback, 16 years old, after a very impressive effort.

Tomorrow, the competition in the Smart Energy Cup continues with a sprint.

Men’s Results 

1. William Poromaa, Åsarna, 29.25
2. Eric Rosjö, Mora, +17.7
3. Anton Persson, Falun-Borlänge, +29.2
4. Alvar Myhlback, Sågmyra, +38.0
5. Karl-Johan Westberg, Borås, +40.5

Here you can find the complete results.