She lost almost the entire season and had not raced since December. Now Magni Smedås is back – outsprinting the world’s elite at Alliansloppet.

“This means a lot! My only ambition today was one thing: to have fun skiing. So, it’s incredibly fun to come back and be on top again. I surprised myself today,” Magni Smedås told Langrenn.com after the thrilling finish in Trollhättan, adding:

“My technique was terrible at the end, and if the race had been five meters longer, I would have been third, but it was enough!”

Still, Smedås admits she was nervous ahead of her comeback at Alliansloppet.

“Before the weekend, I was really anxious. It could either go really well – or really, really badly. Luckily, it went really well!”

Also Read: Magni Smedås wins Alliansloppet 2025

A nightmare season

It had been a long time since things went smoothly for the Team Eksjöhus Pro Team athlete. The 2024/25 World Championship season turned into a disaster. The previous year had already been marred by illness and injuries.

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Originally from Dalsbygda, Smedås had planned to double her focus for the 2024/2025 season, with the main goal of making the Norwegian national team for the home World Championships in Trondheim.

However, by January, she had already had to accept that the plan had collapsed. After several rounds of illness, she was forced to pull the emergency brake. That meant missing the Norwegian National Championships in Gåsbu, which would have been her last chance to qualify for the Worlds. The rest of the winter was also lost. The only races she managed were the two Ski Classics Pro Tour events in December.

Also Read: Magni Smedås is back and looking ahead to the new season with Team Eksjöhus

Spectacular comeback

It wasn’t until this summer that Smedås started to feel like she was on her way back. Then she delivered a stunning sprint victory at Alliansloppet, edging out her rivals in a three-way thriller at the finish line.

Now, Smedås is already looking ahead to Sunday’s 15km classic individual start, the third and final race of the Alliansloppet weekend.

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I have done quite a bit of double poling with kick this summer, and had a good experience here last year, so it will be very fun to see what I can achieve in such good company,” says Smedås, adding that she expects a tough battle for the win.

“The Swedish national team skiers and Silje Øyre Slind are very strong in diagonal skiing. But of course, we can’t overlook the other long-distance women either. The skiers I shared the podium with today are very strong and can perform really well tomorrow.”

Not yet fully recovered

Even though her Alliansloppet victory exceeded all expectations, Smedås is careful not to celebrate it as a full recovery.

“It has been a long road back, and I’m still not back in 100 percent training yet,” she explains.

The Pro Team athlete describes months of trial and error, but also a rewarding process.

“This summer I’ve managed my training myself, taking things day by day. I’ve had many discussions with skier friends I’ve been in touch with throughout the process, and together we’ve evaluated and brainstormed. I’ve used myself as a test subject and discovered that slow training is what I’ve responded to best. It has been both educational and fun,” says Smedås.

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Click on the image to watch “Ski Classics Ski or Die Raw Cut” with Magni Smedås 

Focus on training until the season starts

After Sunday’s 15km race – the last competition in Trollhättan – Smedås will not race again before the snow season begins.

“This weekend is the only roller ski competition I have planned. My body needs easier training to build an even stronger foundation before the season,” she explains.

Next up for Smedås is a training camp with Team Eksjöhus in Torsby, which will run until September 4, followed by another camp in Orsa at the end of September. In October, the plan is to spend several weeks training in France.

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