This weekend’s World Cup races will make or break the season for the Swedish Olympic hopefuls.

The Swedish national team directors will announce the Olympic team selection on December 21. 

Sweden announced the rules for making the Olympic team last spring. Six racers are already preselected based on their previous merits: Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson, Oskar Svensson andJens Burman, as well as the two currently injured racers Linn Svahn and Jonna Sundling. 

On December 21, the national team directors will announce the second Olympic selection list. There are several benefits to making the early list, including having more time for specific preparation for the events that take place at extremely high elevation. Accordingly, the World Cup events in Davos this weekend are crucial for the Swedish skiers.   

– For some of the Swedish skiers, this weekend in Switzerland could make or break the season, says Thomas Engdahl, the sports director of the Swedish Olympic committee. 

Sweden must submit the final selection to the 2022 Olympics by January 16, but according to Engdahl, he hopes to have the cross-country ski team dialed in well ahead of that date. That’s a major reason why he is on site in Davos for the World Cup events on Saturday and Sunday. 

“Waiting until the last deadline to lock in the team is not ideal, and we hope to be set well before then. But, of course, there is always a chance that someone could get injured or sick,” Endahl says to SVT.

The same is true for other nations, including the Norwegian national team. With a deep and ambitious field of athletes, the battle for the 16 spots is more cut-throat than ever. 

Earlier today, Norway’s Hans Christer Holund received the green light to go ahead and prepare for the 2022 Olympics.