Last weekend Ida Dahl won Tjejvasan after a thrilling sprint finish. The Team Engcon’s athlete is now chasing victory at Vasaloppet: “Of course, the finish at Tjejvasan gave extra confidence,” says Dahl.

Ida Dahl, Team Engcon, is having an impressive season. She won the first four events in the Ski Classics Pro Tour and, with the results, got a spot on the Swedish World Cup team for both Davos and Tour de Ski.

On the other hand, before Engadin La Diagonela, she got sick and missed the race, struggled through Marcialonga, and had problems with her skis during Jizerská50.

During the Ski Classics weekend in Orsa Grönklitt, Dahl returned to top form by winning Saturday’s Criterium and Sunday’s Individual Time Trial. And a week ago, there was a victory at Tjejvasan:

“It was a very tough race. It felt like I had to ski full speed the whole way. I didn’t think I would be so strong at the end, but this proved that ‘it’s not over until it’s over.’ And that finish gives extra confidence before Vasaloppet. At the same time, I have the greatest respect for my opponents,” says Dahl, who, if winning Vasaloppet, will join an exclusive group of skiers who won Tjejvasan and Vasaloppet the same year.

Marie Johansson (later Svan) already did it in 1989, but then the women did not have their “own” class in Vasaloppet (it was introduced in 1997). 

After that, it happened for the first time in 2003 through Ulrica Persson. The most recent double winner is Lina Korsgren, who achieved the feat in 2021.

“I was tired after Tjejvasan and took it easy on Sunday and Monday; then, there were a couple of long but easy sessions before I skied a harder session on Wednesday. During the last days leading up to Vasaloppet, there will be some easy sessions, and make sure to recover for Sunday,” says Dahl during a pre-Vasaloppet interview earlier this week.

Watch Here – Vasaloppet: Pre-Event Interviews Live On SC YouTube 

Which parts of Vasaloppet will be decisive?
“The start is always important, especially since we start with the men. It’s about getting away well. Then basically, the whole race is about going full throttle and ‘surviving’ (laughs Ida). And then eat a lot and stock up on energy to have strength left for a possible sprint,” concludes Ida Dahl.

The Season XIV of Ski Classics Pro Tour consists of 14 events on 10 event weekends in 6 different countries. 

Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XIV (2022/2023)

• Event 1: December 10, 2022 – Bad Gastein PTT, Bad Gastein, Austria, 15km
• Event 2: December 11, 2022 – Bad Gastein Criterium, Bad Gastein, Austria, 35km
• Event 3: December 17, 2022 – La Venosta Criterium, Val Venosta, Italy, 36km 
• Event 4: January 14, 2023 – Pustertaler Ski Marathon, Sexten, Italy, 62km
• Event 5: January 15, 2023 – Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge, Niederdorf, Italy, 32km
• Event 6: January 21, 2023 – Engadin La Diagonela, Engadin Valley, Switzerland, 48km 
• Event 7: January 29, 2023 – Marcialonga, Trentino, Italy, 70km
• Event 8: February 12, 2023 – Jizerská50, Bedrichov, Czech Republic, 50km
• Event 9: February 18, 2023 – Grönklitt Criterium, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 50km
• Event 10: February 19, 2023 – Grönklitt ITT, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 15km
• Event 11: March 5, 2023 – Vasaloppet, Sälen-Mora, Sweden, 90km
• Event 12: March 18, 2023 – Birkebeinerrennet, Rena-Lillehammer, Norway, 54km
• Event 13: April 1, 2023 – Reistadløpet, Setermoen-Bardufoss, Norway, 40km
• Event 14: April 2, 2023 – Summit 2 Senja, Bardufoss- Finnsnes, Norway, 67km

More information about the Ski Classics Pro Tour you can find at skiclassics.com.