"We know nothing about the competition season"

The Swedish ski stars are used to order and order with long-prepared and planned camps for the season. Now the corona pandemic has created several questions, but few answers.

It is clear that the premiere camp will start on Monday in Torsby, several weeks later than usual. After that, it is more uncertain. The planning includes, for example, a high-altitude camp in Font Romeu, France, between 7 and 29 September.

Now it is uncertain whether that camp will be off.

- This spring, we thought that it has probably blown over for the season. But now we are approaching autumn and it is still not calm in Europe, says Ingesson.

The alternative is two different camp periods where the national team management chooses between five different locations in Sweden.

After that, the uncertainty surrounding the camp planning continues until the competition premiere in November - if there will be a premiere and competition season.

- We must focus on it being a season and that it will be an autumn camp. Otherwise it will be too much to work in a vacuum without having direction, says Ingesson.

He also talks about his thoughts ahead of an uncertain competition season that will be crowned with a World Cup in Oberstdorf between 22 February and 7 March.

- Of course, there is a fear. How will this be? But we have to work based on a season and a World Cup and then build based on this.

At the same time, Magnus Ingesson emphasizes the importance of not risking the riders' health. The guidelines from the Swedish Public Health Agency and the directives from the national team's own doctors mean a lot:

- We do not want to risk getting the virus into the group. It might come anyway. Some get really sick. This is a difficult seat.

National team skier Jennie Öberg became ill in covid-19 this spring and had to be hospitalized. She has since ended her career, due to a lack of motivation to continue investing.

TT: Are the riders scared?

- They are not particularly worried and are generally calm. There is not much talk about it. But it can be different if you go to camp and if someone catches a cold - the common cold. Then there can be more hysteria, says Magnus Ingesson.

A typical spring and summer includes several national team camps. But not this year. This summer, the skiers have been able to train at home, alone or with their clubs.

Instead, it is the national team coaches who have been allowed to travel around the country to visit the riders in their home environments.

This has led to a more individual approach, which has given the riders more time to work with details in their own training.

- But now there are many who think it will be nice to finally be able to go to the first joint camp. For example, Charlotte (Kalla) thinks it will be good. She has been very much herself and has started to miss meeting and training with the others. It is important that we have a business together.