She won gold in the sprint at the U23 World Championships. Here, Moa Hansson talks about the gold, the World Cup debut, and taking the step up to the senior level.

Moa Hansson took silver in the Junior World Championships sprint a year ago, and she also skied the last distance for the Swedish team that won gold in the relay. This year, the success has continued mainly at the U23 World Championships, from where Moa came home with a gold medal. 

One of Swedish skiing’s greatest talents talks about the transition from junior life to the even more demanding senior elite. 

Moa, who originally comes from Landsbro in Småland, Sweden, represents Falun Borlänge SK (ski club), and it is from the Dalarna region that she hopes to reach the world top. 

She sums up the first senior season as enriching and a change to no longer necessarily be among those at the top of the results list every competition.

How has it been to switch from ski high school to senior life and stand more on your own?

“Quite honestly, I do not think there has been a huge difference. I have moved to Falun, and I am a member of DSA (Dala Sports Academy), and we get outstanding support from that training group with coaches and group sessions. It’s quite similar to how it has been before.” 

Furthermore, Moa describes the training environment by highlighting the combination of many young skiers of her age and the more established ones, such as Maja Dahlqvist and Anna Dyvik, to who the younger ones can look up.

What would you say are the most significant differences in the competitions if you compare junior and senior? 

“You cannot just look at a result and determine how well you have skied. It is useful; before, you could do a less perfect race and still come up with a good position, and then you did not think about it anymore. Now you have to evaluate each race much more carefully. It is inspiring to see in some way that even though it can be hard to see how far you have up to the best, so if they have taken those steps, you should also be able to do it yourself.”

What were your goals before this season?

“The big goal of the season was the U23 WC, to be in as good shape as possible that week. Then I also had the goal of going to some World Cup, maybe mainly the one here in Falun because then more people get the chance.”

But then the World Cup debut was much faster, already in Lillehammer in December. How was it?

“It was great, and I have probably never been so happy with a phone call. It was fun to see how it goes on the biggest stage, and you learn a lot from being out in those competitions. There were several World Cups in a row, and then a few more in the spring was more than I could have dared to dream. It was awesome.” 

You mentioned the U23 World Championships earlier. How was the championship? 

“In the first race, 10 km classic, I wanted too much. I was quite disappointed, but I tried to recover to the sprint two days later.”

“Sprint has gone better for me, so it was nice to keep it. I did not think it would go so well because I did not have any awesome feelings in my body in January and February. I think the course suited me very well, and I had very good skis, so it was a good day in the end anyway.” 

So, Moa took home the gold in a competition with several Olympic skiers.

You have been given a place in Team Bauhaus for next season. What was it like to receive that message, and what will it mean for you in the future?  

“It was very fun, and I feel it is a big step in the right direction. It will be enjoyable to see what it means to be part of such a team, which I do not know yet. I think going to camp with the A national team feels cool and inspiring.” 

“The fact that we are a young team probably means that we can support each other quite a lot and means that we can keep the training at our level so that we make the best of it. It’s probably easy to get excited and hang on to those who are the very best. I think it will be a good group to work with.”

When we look forward to next season, Moa reflects on the tough competition in the Swedish sprint team on the women’s side. 

“You can probably think that you are a bit stupid when you try to get a place in the Swedish sprint team on the women’s side right now.” 

Because of this, she is open to the World Cup being a difficult challenge, and she, therefore, considers that there is a U23 World Championships next year as well. 

Do you have something specific you want to improve on next season?

“I have a lot of things I want to improve, and I hardly know where to start. I have worked very hard on classic skiing this year because I have previously succeeded a little better in skating. So it’s something I’ve developed and want to continue working on. I have realized the value of working with technique.”

What tips would you give to the juniors who will now or take the step into the senior class in the coming years?

“I think you should go in with the attitude that it will be cool and fun. This is where it starts, and this is where you get to compete with the very best. It is an advantage to see them up close and take advantage of it. Then it would be best if you did not stare blindly at a list of results but evaluate your performance. I think that is important.”