Swedish restrictions during the Ski Tour

Of: Anna Rydén, Makoto Asahara

Published: Dec 31, 2020 at 17.47

VAL MÜSTAIR. When the Swedish team charges for the Tour de Ski, it is with mouth guards, curfews and alcohol in abundance. Everything to protect cyclists.

– You feel like a doctor, says one, still not quite masked, Halfvarsson Street.

The entire Norwegian national team has chosen not to go. A handful of other outstanding skiers as well.

The Swedish cross-country ski team, meanwhile, arrived yesterday (Wednesday) in Val Müstair and Switzerland for the first part of this year’s Tour de Ski.

Or yes, they first came to Italy and Mals, where they chose to be based.

– Since we are not going to go up (Val Müstair is 2000 meters above sea level, editor’s note), we should be on the Italian side and live low. We have permission to cross the border. There are not many hotels on the other side either, explains selection manager Anders Byström.

Photo: TOMI HÄNNINEN / BILDBYRÅN

Frida Karlsson with mask.

Pieces in skiers and walls.

Once in Mals, it splits. Skiers and leaders separately in double room. Separate walls in another hotel.

– We can’t do much more than that. All skiers will eat together. We cannot bubble up the drivers in the same way that we did in Finland. If everyone is green, then.

They were all green, that is, negative, when tested prior to departure.

Do you have a plan if a skier tests positive?

– We have additional rooms where we can isolate people. It should go well. What would happen then is up to the Swiss authorities and how they act, says Byström, adding:

– It is a story that has not yet emerged in the world ski championship. Alpine skiing had the same situation in Finland and no one could start there. We will have to accept it then if it happens.

“Every day even without a crown”

In any case, steps are taken to keep everyone healthy, even if they share a bubble.

– The same restrictions as always. They sit at a distance, wash their hands, don’t borrow from each other. Bottles or the like. We are very careful about hygiene in the kitchen and common areas, says Byström.

– But for skiers, this is every day even without a crown. Otherwise they are also very safe.

A detail that pilots, on the other hand, are not used to are mouth guards. Something that is immediately noticeable when they have gone out and tested the slopes in Val Müstair.

– Exactly, the Frida mask! exclaims Maja Dahlqvist when she realizes in the middle of the mixed zone that she and her colleague and friend from the national team have forgotten one of the rules.

Thanks for the restrictions

Mouth guards must be worn as soon as the runners are not in the hotel or on the track.

– It’s just to remember to wear the mask. It feels like the most advanced, says Dahlqvist as he puts the mask where it should be.

– It will be a carrier of worms. You feel like a doctor. It’s a bit uncomfortable. I don’t like wearing a mask but we don’t have a choice, says Calle Halfvarsson and takes the opportunity to thank the crown’s restrictions.

– Yes, then these restrictions that have been due to the crown can probably only be a victory for me. I who get sick easily. I feel that as much as I am doing now with hand alcohol, it is appropriate and, in addition to staying away from people, I see it as a greater opportunity to stay healthy from common colds too. I think it may be good for me to get involved in even more serious things to stay healthy.

Do you tend to neglect?

– Yes, you are the 99% and it may be something that you have neglected a bit without thinking about it that way. You’re 100% now so it could be a win for me to stay healthy.

Published: Dec 31, 2020 at 17.47

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