Johan Ekberg reflects on the valuable lessons he learned following the early part of the season.

Johan Ekberg delivered one of this winter’s biggest surprises with a third-place finish at the Bruksvallarna, Sweden season opener—a result that quickly earned him a World Cup opportunity for Sweden. But after a strong start, his results began to fluctuate. Now, the 25-year-old sums up a season full of learning, where the pursuit of peak form came at a price.

“I had gotten some indications from training that I was on a pretty high level. I knew it would be better than it had been for many, many years,” Ekberg tells Langd.se.

That third-place finish took him all the way to the World Cup, where he competed in three events: 20 km freestyle in Ruka, 10 km freestyle in Lillehammer, and 20 km classic in Davos. His best result came in Ruka, where he placed 36th—finishing ahead of skiers like Jens Burman.

However, after the World Cup in Davos, where he ended up 41st, the results didn’t go quite as planned.

“When the second half of the season didn’t go as well as the first, of course I was a little disappointed,” Ekberg admits.
“But overall, I’m really happy. It went way better than I had imagined. Still, you readjust your goals after a start like that.”

A Learning Experience

In the Scandinavian Cup in Falun, Ekberg had to settle for two 34th-place finishes before finally breaking through on Sunday with a 12th place—his best result there—representing Nacka Värmdö SK.

“Since I had a race every weekend, I wanted to peak for every single opportunity I got to compete. Because of that, I lost the training base I would’ve needed to maintain my performance over time,” he explains.
“I wanted to be in top form for each World Cup weekend to earn another chance the following week. In that way, it became a learning experience.”

Training Is Key – Learning from the Best

Ekberg still managed some solid results in February, with a fifth place in the 15 km classic in Bollnäs being his season’s highlight.

“You have to get the training in, regardless of whether there are races or not—otherwise, it’ll come back to bite you. Instead of chasing that perfect 100% peak, it’s better to go for 95%. You’ve got to learn from the best, who manage to perform weekend after weekend in the World Cup.”

Swedish Nationals in Kalix – Not His Thing

Ekberg wrapped up his national championship campaign in Kalix with a 19th place in the 10 km classic and 18th in the 50 km.

The loose snow conditions in Kalix were tough—how did that suit you?

“I’ve realized it suits me really poorly when it gets loose, and you’re forced to herringbone. The national championships went terribly, to be honest,” Ekberg reflects.
“It feels a bit strange, but sometimes it seems like I’m the only one in Sweden who needs to work on my herringbone technique. But that’s probably just the way it is. It was painfully obvious that the soft snow really threw me off.”

Season Wrapped Up

It’s been an up-and-down season for Ekberg, but overall, he’s satisfied. He’s also learned a lot—the kind of hard-earned lessons that come from experience. But there are no more races on the horizon this spring.

“No, the season’s actually over for me.”

When we talk on the phone, I notice he takes his time to choose his words carefully. He comes across as analytical. I ask about the future, and he shares a few options he’s considering.

Some athletes need to be asked the same question more than once—not Johan Ekberg. It’s clear he’s given his future a lot of thought, and he brings up areas for improvement himself.

“There’s so much I’ve identified that I need to work on if I want to take it to the next level. Now that I’ve had a taste of the World Cup environment, that’s really where I want to be all the time,” he says.

“In terms of skiing, I think I need to give sprinting another shot—to try to regain that sprint capacity I believe I have genetically, but that really got lost this season.”

His best sprint result of the season also came in Bollnäs, where he finished 13th in the prologue and 23rd overall.

“The prologue especially is a major weakness. I want to be an all-around skier, so that’s something I’ll need to fix for next season,” Ekberg concludes.

Are you interested in Ski Classics and long-distance skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.