Right after the start, she felt that the skis would not help her on this day.

“We went wrong with the skis. Vasaloppet was pure hell”, says Dahl, who finished seventh, almost fifteen minutes behind the winner Astrid Øyre Slind, Team Koteng Eidissen.

After finishing fourth at the Visma Ski Classics Prologue in Orsa in December, Ida Dahl had impressive results in the following races: Pustertaler Ski Marathon 2nd, Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge 1st, La Venosta Time Trial 2nd, La Diagonela 1st, Marcialonga 1st, and Jizerská50 1st.

At the Tartu Maraton two weeks before Vasaloppet, Dahl felt tired and finished fifth. For the Vasaloppet, however, she felt that the power was back.

“I felt fresh and fast in the warmup before the start,” Dahl says.

However, it did not take many seconds after the start of Vasaloppet on Sunday morning before Dahl felt that things were not right with the skis.

“I may not be the fastest skier, but I skied everything I had from the start. It was cold initially, and I first thought that it would probably get better later. But after the starting hill, I realized that it was not possible. I did not have skis to keep up,” says Dahl and continues:

“We went wrong with the skis. I do not know exactly what went wrong, but it must have been wrong in the ski choice.”

How was the rest of the race for you?

“Pure hell. No fun at all,” says Dahl.

How did you handle the emotions during the rest of the race?

“It became very tough mentally. I fought on and tried; it was frustrating. In the end, I was so tired and close to breaking up.”

In the finish, Ida was seventh, 14:24 behind the winner Astrid Øyre Slind.

“I might not have had a chance of victory in the race because Astrid was extremely strong. But I was never in the match, so I do not know what I could have achieved,” says Dahl.

Next, Dahl will have to swallow the disappointment and aim forward to the Birkebeinerrennet in just under two weeks. There is a lot to fight for Dahl for the rest of the season. She is already the clear winner of Visma Ski Classic’s pink youth vest.

In the battle for the yellow champion vest, she is only 35 points behind leader Britta Johansson Norgren, Lager 157 Ski Team, with four races left: Birkebeinerrennet, March 19; Årefjällsloppet, March 26; Reistadlöpet, April 2; and, Ylläs-Levi, April 9.

“There are many fun races and fights left. I’m looking forward to it. If I find my way back to the form from earlier this winter, it will be fun.”

Birkebeinerrennet is next on Saturday, March 19. The 54-kilometer long race between Rena and Lillehammer should suit Dahl well with the race’s track profile. The long slopes are like a glove for the strong uphill skier.

“If you are in good shape, it will be a fun race to go,” she says.

Birken, in particular, was Ida Dahl’s first long-distance race in her career. It was in March 2019, and she was in ninth place, just over twelve minutes behind the superior winner, Justyna Kowalzcyk.

“I’ve never been so tired as then. I could not move after the race; I was so exhausted and thought I would ‘die’. At the same time, it was fun and awesome,” says Dahl.

That time, Dahl skied for Lager 157 Ski Team’s colors.

“I had called and asked if I could ski for them,” says Dahl, who then also became 13th at Reistadlöpet and 12th at Ylläs-Levi.

Before the following winter, Team Ramudden signed the athlete who lives in Östersund and has IFK Mora SK as her ski club. The first full season in Visma Ski Classics, she finished fourth at Marcialonga and Vasaloppet, among others.

Last season it went even better with five podium places and a second place in the overall ranking. This winter, she has four victories and is very much in the match for the overall victory.