Cross-country: Ebba Andersson apprehensive before Tour de Ski start: “I don’t handle it particularly well”

Tour de Ski begins on Sunday with a freestyle sprint in Toblach, and Swedish star Ebba Andersson admits that particular race format is not her strength. She finished 54th in the opener last year and says she is mentally prepared for a tough start: “The race that’s coming is one I normally don’t handle particularly well.”

Despite that, Andersson expects her overall form to be solid for the Tour, which features six stages over eight days, all in Italy this season. She has a couple of podiums in the event but has never won it; last year she finished sixth overall. After the 2023–24 Tour, her then-sluggish season turned around, and she built towards the World Championships in Trondheim, returning with three gold medals. “Right now I feel much more confident in my own ability than I did last year,” she says, adding that she is trying to keep her focus on the sporting side amid increased attention after her Trondheim success.

Looking beyond the Tour, Andersson plans a heavy training phase aimed at the 2026 Olympic Games, which for cross-country skiers begin on 7 February in Val di Fiemme—the same venue that hosts the final stages of the Tour de Ski. As in previous championship build-ups, she intends to spend training weeks at her parents’ home base in Sollefteå.

Teammate Edvin Anger, who had his breakthrough at last year’s Tour de Ski, acknowledges a difficult start to this season. “The form has been a bit shaky—tired in the body and not really where I want to be. It’s been a bit too much and has taken energy, up and down,” he says of his goals for this year’s Tour.