Frida Karlsson, her partner and also national team skier William Poromaa, will celebrate Christmas with Karlsson's parents and sister in the mountains.
Both Karlsson and Poromaa make their debut on New Year's Day in the Tour de ski, the traditional cross-country ski circus in the Alps, in Val Müstair in Switzerland.
The ski couple, who live in Sollefteå, have done what they could to create a contagious Christmas celebration without the corona virus.
Inclusion in Karlsson bubble
- We have been very careful, for example with my mother and father.
I have locked them in this insulation, they have not been allowed to meet anyone else even now before Christmas and have been locked in this bubble, says Frida Karlsson.
TT: How will you relate to the risk of infection, to stay healthy?
- I will not stay among people, I will stay isolated.
But it does not affect me so much.
I get to be with my loved ones and so on, the ones I'm otherwise with - I just will not meet any other people.
It will be just as cozy for that.
Karlsson and the Swedish national team have only done one World Cup competition so far this winter: the premiere in Ruka a month ago.
The 21-year-old star, who has never ridden the Tour de ski before, is looking forward to competing again.
Even if it is not against Therese Johaug and the other Norwegian riders, who forgo the tour due to the pandemic.
Played "Tour the ski slopes"
- It is clear that it is boring.
You want the best to go, and that you should measure yourself against the best.
But at the same time, it is not something I have focused on.
There is nothing I can do about it - or feel sorry for them because they are not allowed to compete.
I must be grateful that we can drive, says Karlsson.
Charlotte Kalla is so far the only Swedish overall winner in the Tour de ski.
When the veteran as a 20-year-old was responsible for his classic climb up Alpe Cermis in Italy in January 2008, Karlsson was eight years old.
Running the Tour de ski herself has long been a goal for her.
- It's something I've always dreamed of going.
From the time you were little and watching TV, the tour was great.
They followed it slavishly and played about "Tour de ski-slope" at the youth training.
It is clear that there is something extra about the tour.
Therefore, it feels a little extra when you get to go.
Karlsson - who broke through big with three World Cup medals in Seefeld, Austria, as a junior almost years ago - has the overall victory of the tour in sight already in the debut.
Teammates worst competitors
- I think I feel fit in my body and feel that I want to be involved and fight about it, in fact.
Then it is difficult to predict how the body reacts to so many competitions in a row, I have never run such a tough competition schedule, she says and continues:
- If you check the races, there are a lot of mass starts.
I have still worked a bit with sprint and speed because I think it can be very important in this tour.
Karlsson believes he has the biggest competitors in his own team.
- In the Swedish women's team, we have several who want to join and fight at the top.
I know we have Ebba (Andersson) who I have been pretty even with so far, but it will be a struggle among many I think.
CLIP: Frida Karlsson about the difficult last year
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Frida Karlsson about the difficult last year