By Johan Trygg
Jenny Larsson, Team Ramudden, surprised both herself and many others with her superior solo victory at Engadin La Diagonela on Saturday.
Now she’s looking forward to starting Toblach-Cortina on Saturday with the yellow Champion bib.
“It will be really cool,” says Jenny, who turned 25 this Monday.
Jenny Larsson’s victory on Saturday was a sensation. Her best placement during season X, her debut season, was 7th place at Jizerská.
We had a chat with Jenny on Wednesday when she had some time to let the victory sink in.
“It has been intense with a lot of media, but I also had time to take it in it and enjoy it,” says Jenny from Toblach in Italy.
“We have been here since Sunday, and it is rude good with sun and lots of snow.”
Saturday’s victory was more than Jenny had expected in the first race of the season.
“My goal has been to reach the podium this during Season X, but I didn’t think I would take a solo victory in the first race.
What will it be like to start with the yellow bib on Saturday?
“It’s going to be really cool! I don’t feel the pressure to keep it; I will just enjoy having it. It will be so nice, and it fits well on our yellow competition suit.”
How were your thoughts before the race last Saturday?
“I was very unsure of my shape. I have trained more or less all interval sessions by myself since the Swedish season premiere in Bruksvallarna in November. Then I was a bit tired due to a lot of training in December, but I have been able to do all the training I planned. We were also on-site at high altitude well before the race.”
“I felt early in the race that I had a really good day. It was so wonderful to have that feeling. I felt so strong during the whole race.”
If Jenny herself was unsure of her form before the start, her coach, Ida Ingemarsdotter (Olympic champion in relay 201myand World champion in sprint relay 2011), was not.
“She had seen me in action on a film clip that “Gurra” (Team Ramuddens Pro Team Manager, Gustaf Korsgren) took on an interval session the days before the race. After that, she didn’t hesitate about my form.”
“After the race, she was very happy with how I skied technically and the way I had pushed it all the way. We had also talked before the race that I would dare to go for it,” says Larsson.
That was exactly what she did and managed her solo victory with almost four minutes of a margin to teammate Lina Korsgren and Emilie Fleten, Team Koteng, who came second and third.
How did you handle the cold during the race?
“We knew it would be cold and had discussed a lot about the clothing before. It went well for me, but I felt the cold, especially on my knees and at the end of the race on my lips. I think we handled the cold well the whole team.”
Jenny Larsson enjoys excellent conditions in Toblach. Photo: Jenny Larsson Instagram.
Top photo: Björn Reichert/Nordic focus.
