Let’s rewind to February 25, 2023. Moa Ilar finished 35th in the skiathlon race at the World Championships in Planica. When she was later not named for the distance race, she chose to leave the championship.

“It has been tough days since I left the World Championships. It took more than I thought to not be named for the 10 kilometers. It was the race I was looking forward to the most. The result I showed wasn’t enough to continue, and there were no indications that I would get to compete more, so it was better to go home and take a breath,” said Ilar when Langd.se met her after the finish of Nattvasan, which she skied as preparation for the Holmenkollen 50 kilometers.

But the fact is that she had plans to quit elite skiing:

“It was very close to me putting the skis on the shelf after the World Championships. It was a very heavy disappointment. I chose to go home to Vansbro (Sweden) to heal my wounds. The roads had just cleared of snow, and my sister and I were out walking while her three-year-old daughter was cycling. Then my niece had a world-class fall. There was snot and tears everywhere. After consoling her, my sister gave three-year-old Hedvig two options: ‘Either we go home, or we try again.’ Hedvig chose to wipe away the tears and snot and try again. At that moment, I decided I wouldn’t give up. I had to get back on the horse,” said Ilar during the national team’s media day in Stockholm a few weeks ago.

She concluded the past season by finishing eighth in the distance race at the World Cup in Falun, and she was also part of the winning team in the mixed relay:

“The end of last season was very valuable. It confirmed the capacity that I know I have. And I have been able to build on that.”

What training changes have you made for this season?

“In addition to an increased focus on high-altitude training, I have changed my strength coach to Cecilia Kalla. I don’t do a lot of strength training; it’s about dedicated strength sessions once a week with exercises that I am comfortable with. It involves deadlifts, power cleans, and working on knee stability, which is crucial for me. But then I work on activation and ‘small strength’ before each session. It has lifted both the strength aspect and the technical aspects of skiing for me this season. And I have a very good team around me with Cecilia, my coach Mattis, and my mental coach Anneli Östberg,” says Ilar.

And it was a brilliant start in Gällivare last weekend. The 26-year-old from Vansbro (with Falun Borlänge as her club address) won the distance race in freestyle technique, thus defeating both Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson.

“For me, it’s important to have a good start to the season so that I can build on that and not have to chase after form,” concludes Ilar.

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