Last winter, the Swedish cross-country skiing star Ebba Andersson won two golds and a total of four medals at the World Championships. Next winter, the main goal is the Tour de Ski.

“Tour de Ski. I would like to win that,” Ebba Andersson says at today’s Swedish National Team press conference in Östersund.

The Swedish cross-country skiers will have three opportunities to race at home in the World Cup this upcoming winter. Gällivare, Östersund and Falun.

Read More: FIS World Cup calendar and approved cross-country skiing distances. 

One of the many Swedish National Team skiers who live in Östersund is Ebba Andersson, so on December 9 and 10, she is one of the skiers who will race on home turf:

“Knowing the tracks and how to tackle them is not a disadvantage. There will be many laps out here before it’s time. The World Cup tracks are largely roller ski tracks, so I’ll be able to train a lot out here. But then, when it comes to the competition, you have to rely on your shape,” says Ebba Andersson, who made her World Cup debut in Östersund eight years ago.

The then 17-year-old Ebba Andersson finished in sixteenth. She has also raced an event in the Ski Tour that took place in Sweden and Norway in 2020:

“Then I finished fourth in every competition, so I want revenge there,” Andersson says at the press conference that the Swedish Ski Association and the Swedish Biathlon Association held together on Tuesday.

The biathletes have World Championships every year (this winter at Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic), but for the traditional cross-country skiers, there are no major championships:

“Tour de Ski is the big goal for me. It’s a race I’d like to win. For me to do that, I need to improve my sprinting. So, I have added some sprint-specific sessions in my training,” says Ebba Andersson during the press conference.

Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more.