Kalla stood on the starting line for the first time since March after testing positive for covid-19 in November.

Before the race, she talked about some nervousness and about question marks regarding the physical form.

- It's a way to hike.

Especially considering that the effort in training has been at a different level than what I have had before the disease.

But I do not feel so much anxiety, Kalla told Sportbladet.

She had start number three in Saturday's competition but quickly became dependent on the great Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson in the lead.

The duo was in a class of their own and with barely a mile driven, Charlotte Kalla was in eighth place, one minute and 20 seconds behind Andersson and Karlsson.

At the same time, a cluster was formed in the battle for third place where Emma Ribom, Jonna Sundling, Maja Dahlqvist and Linn Svahn made up.

The distance to the close duo continued to grow and Ebba Andersson eventually won by a tenth before Frida Karlsson.

Jonna Sundling was third, Maja Dahlqvist fourth and Linn Svahn fifth, one and a half minutes from the lead.

Kalla drove in as seventh.

CLIP: Here Björgen challenges Johaug in the gym

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Here Björgen challenges Johaug in the gym