Yesterday, he broke the course record in the prestigious Hackmora Bergslopp race. Today, he won in Falun. It’s been a successful weekend for IFK Mora’s Eric Rosjö.

While several other competitors participated in the sprint in Falun yesterday, Eric Rosjö, Calle Halfvarsson, and a group of other skiers were running the Hackmora Bergslopp on Calle Halfvarsson’s home turf, Sågmyra. Rosjö managed to take the victory and set a new course record, much to Halfvarsson’s disappointment.

Today, the duo faced off again when the men’s 15-kilometer race was decided. Eric Rosjö seemed poised to secure a comfortable win, but Halfvarsson woke up towards the end, and at the finish, there was only a 1.6-second gap in Rosjö’s favor.

Won by a Narrow Margin

According to Langd.se, Halfvarsson delivered a strong finish, closing a nearly 12-second gap in the final three kilometers. However, he couldn’t catch up completely, and Rosjö managed to secure his second victory of the weekend. Truls Gisselman from Rehns BK finished third.

“I thought the gap was larger at the end. He must have pushed really hard in the last lap because I was feeling strong too. But it was a good race, and I’ve been feeling great after the altitude training. I hope it continues like this,” said Eric Rosjö to Expressen after the race.

Yesterday, you ran Hackmora Bergslopp and broke the course record. How was that race?

“Calle has been talking about Hackmora Bergslopp for many years. It seems to be a big deal in Dalarna. I thought I had to try it, and I managed to set a record. It was fun, and before today’s race, I could tell everyone was a bit shaky in their voices before the start. It seemed like it put some respect in the opponents, so I felt like I had already won before the race started. It was fun,” he says with a laugh.

“Bad Weekend”

Calle Halfvarsson, who delivered a strong finish, wasn’t aware of how close he was:

“No, I didn’t know. I was 12 seconds behind Rosjö at the top, so I didn’t think I stood a chance. Before the race, I would have been satisfied if I finished within a minute of Rosjö,” Halfvarsson said after the race, continuing:

“It felt okay. I was a bit sluggish at the start, and my warm-up was bad as usual. Being so close to Rosjö at the finish is a bit frustrating. But, as I said, we’ll race again this winter.”

Yesterday, Rosjö beat you in Hackmora Bergslopp. Which loss hurts more?

“Hackmora stings the most, especially because he broke the course record. Rosjö has kind of ruined my weekend, but I’ll get my revenge in the winter. All in all, it’s been a crap weekend,” he says with a laugh.

Top 5 Men

1. Eric Rosjö, IFK Mora SK, 24:12.4 
2. Calle Halfvarsson, IFK Mora SK, +1.6 
3. Truls Gisselman, Rehns BK, +17.7 
4. Alvar Myhlback, Bjursås IK, +20.5 
5. George Ersson, Falun Borlänge SK, +31.9 

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*Story by Maja Eriksson/Leandro Lutz translation