The Swede has been investigated for IBS, which is a collective name for an irritated and sensitive gut, and believes that this week's problems may be related to it.

- It's a guess even though no one knows. I get a stomach ache and fall asleep, describes Halfvarsson problems.

The disease country has been a constant companion throughout his career and this season is no exception. Before the Tour de Ski he was cold.

First workout on Thursday

He made his first workout as late as Thursday after falling ill after Nove Mesto last weekend and didn't have the energy to run a tough three-mile today and is playing down expectations well before the sprint. Although it was only three, four days in bed, it is a disturbance in a sensitive skier body that strives for perfection. In addition, the symptoms remain in the body for a long time after feeling healthy.

"Unfortunately it will affect and there were heavy bones today too," he says after feeling for the terrain in Oberstdorf but guards up with:

- It can go just as well and I hope to get some energy back, thinks Halfvarsson, who is perhaps the most unpredictable rider in the world elite, where the results oscillate back and forth. Nobody mixes and gives like Halfvarsson.