National team director Anders Byström explains why most of the Swedish national team are gathered in the Swiss ski town over the holidays.

“With the exception of Charlotte Kalla, we have a young team and many of our athletes are not super used to altitude. So, its super important that our skiers get comfortable with altitude, know how they respond to altitude and how long they need to adapt to altitude,” Swedish National team director Anders Byström says to SVT Sport. 

Everything gets harder at altitude
For every 100 meters above 1000 meters, the altitude effects increase noticeably. The cross-country competitions at the 2022 Olympics will take place at almost 1800 meters elevation, which is close to the legal limit of the International Ski Federation (FIS). 

Byström explains that many athletes, particularly younger cross-country skiers, are worried about altitude and feel insecure about how they will handle competing at high elevations. 

“You have to breathe more to get enough oxygen at altitude. Even elite athletes will notice that its harder to walk stairs at altitude. Also, your sleep is poorer, you need to be more diligent with hydration and diet at altitude,” Byström says. 

Karlsson goes all in
Sweden has already named 13 of the 16 Swedish cross-country skiers to the national team that will compete at the Olympics in Beijing in February. 

Many of them are celebrating Christmas in Davos, Switzerland, including Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson. 

“I don’t have much experience with extreme elevation, and that’s why it feels different. Of course, there is always a risk when you spend extended time at altitude, because the elevation puts an extra toll on the body. But at some point, I have to do it, and I thinks it’s good to start that task now,” Karlsson said in March this year. 

Dahlqvist and the guys do Christmas at home 
However, Maja Dahlqvist and Marcus Grate have opted to go home to Sweden for Christmas.

The same is true for Swedish men who are racing the upcoming Tour de Ski. Dahlqvist labels herself as an “altitude beneficiary” and hopes that will be a competitive advantage for her at the Olympics in February.  

This is Sweden’s team to Tour de Ski

But the Swedish national team racers are hardly the only cross-country skiers in town: The entire Russian team is also training in Davos prior to the Tour de Ski. They stay until December 26, then drive the 40 kilometers from Davos to Lenzerheide, where the Tour de Ski starts on December 28. 

Check out all day-to-day schedules, locations and competition details of the 2021/22 Tour de Ski.