– It’s very sad to see that there are so many good races taking place at the same time, says Linn Sömskar. 

The first stages of the World Cup took place in Telemark, Norway, and many of the Norwegian National Team members were present then. On the women’s side, Lotta Udnes Weng tops the overall World Cup after the first round, second is Linn Sömskar. The action continues in Otepää, Estonia, next week, and the Swede feels that she will be in top form there. Her three victories at the Blink22 show that she will certainly be a force to be reckoned with when the World Cup hits Estonia.  

However, the following weekend, the Roller Skiing World Cup continues in the Baltics, this time in Latvian Madona, but Sömskar has chosen not to attend as Alliansloppet and Toppidrottsvecka are overlapping. The World Cup circuit will be rounded off with races in Italy in mid-September. 

– It’s very sad that there is a clash. Winning the overall World Cup is one of my goals for the season, now we will see if I can achieve that with the races that I’m able to do. 

 What would an overall victory in the Roller-ski World Cup mean to you? 

– A fine glass trophy; and of course glory and fame. Sort of like that. But above all, it’s proof that I’ve been the best roller-skier this season. I have an overall victory in the World Cup from 2015 and would very much like to have another one. 

Why does roller-skiing suit you so well? 

– I would say that I discovered back in 2014 that roller-skiing is really fun and that I’m good at it. And I think a lot of it comes from my confidence. I can get my physical capacity out in a good way. Then, I like the fact that everyone has the same equipment or at least as similar as possible.  

Would you say that roller-skiing is very similar to skiing on snow? 

– Technically, there’s not that much of a difference. I’m not trying to change my techique when roller-skiing. Naturally, roller-skis are shorter, and you can be much closer to your competitors than in regular skiing. From a technical point of view, there is no other training method that is so close to skiing than roller-skiing. 

Sömskar is now representing Team Engcon, but she is still a bit uncertain about her racing calendar next winter. 

– During the last two years I have only invested my time and effort in Ski Classics, but I have not succeeded as well as I had hoped for. I’ve had injuries and sicknesses. I think that I miss the variety. I want to skate and do sprints as well. That gives me an extra boost to develop further. I will participate in the Swedish season premiere in Bruksvallarna and see how it goes from there. I could possibly attend the early season races with my team or take part in Grand Classics races this winter. It remains to be seen.