After the impressive victory along the river Rein at the World Cup sprint in Düsseldorf, the wining girls from Sweden have returned home again. Langd.se met two tired but happy skiers at the Östersund Airport.

How was it in Düsseldorf?
– Amazing, we had an extremely good atmosphere in the team with all the coaches around us. It is always positive when the whole team race well in the beginning of the season, says Britta.

– A good start of the season. When we arrived to the venue the second day and saw Sweden at the top of the nation standing we got really excited to race well, continues Charlotte.

How were your thoughts before the team sprint?
– The whole fall I have been excited for Düsseldorf and especially for the team sprint. I was hoping to race with Britta because I know she is really fast in the last 200 meters and I thought we had a good chance to reach the podium. I never really believed in victory before the race, says Charlotte.

– Charlotte and I make a really good team for a team sprint race. She has the power to break out before the last lap and I have the speed over the finish. I asked for a gap before the last lap and she delivered right away, says Britta.

– Joakim Abrahamsson, the Swedish coach, told me before my last lap to push everything I had right from the start and it turned out well, continues Charlotte.

It has been a lot of talking about the Swedish wax technicians and their work, but it looked like you had really fast skis in Düsseldorf?
– We had perfect skis the whole race, so a big thanks to the wax guys, says Charlotte.

– All coaches worked well together and the atmosphere was good the whole time, continues Britta.

What about your exchanges, they did not turn out that well?
– Before the race we talked how to do it but we ended up at the wrong place right at the first lap. We got stressed and could not make it right after that. We didn’t really take our place in the field and where more concerned about not breaking any gear, says Britta.

– It was really crowed the whole time but in the final the field was a little more split up and then it worked better for us, continues Charlotte.

It is three weeks to the first race on new snow in Bruksvallarna and four weeks to the World Cup in Beitostoelen, Norway.

What will happen now?
– Next camp with the national team starts on Monday, November 5. If its snow in Bruksvallarna we will go there, if not we will see what happens. We will continue to train pretty hard now and step it up a little extra during next camp. Everything to be well prepared for next race, says Britta.

Charlotte is studying at the Mid Sweden University and also has to spend some time at school.

– My goal is to study 50% during the whole year. It has been tuff to keep up with all the work but so far it is going well. It is a little bit different to studying at a University then High School but it’s also important to get an education.

At the World Cup in Beitostoelen, the women will race 10km F.
– It is definitely my favourite distance and if everything goes well in Bruksvallarna I will be looking forward with big excitement for the race in Beitostoelen, says Charlotte.

– They will announce the team one week before Beitostoelen and of course I want to race. I have never competed in Beitostoelen but it’s a course that should fit me well, continues Britta.

The Swedish team has got a perfect start of the season and now we can only wait for next victory. Maybe we will see it already in Norway in four weeks?