Before the Tour de Ski, Viktor Brännmark, who does not belong to any national team group, had only run six races in the World Cup.

But the start of the tour has been difficult for the 29-year-old.

In the sprint qualifier in Lenzerheide he finished in 59th place, and in the classic 15 kilometer race he finished 78th.

- Damn disappointed, I had hoped for much more.

It's by far the worst race of the season and it's so damn boring that it's already happening on the second stage of the tour.

Now I just long for Oberstdorf, I just want revenge, says Brännmark to SVT Sport.

But in the first stage, the conditions could have been better.

Brännmark rode the qualifier in borrowed boots.

When he landed at the airport in Zurich, the day before the first leg, his luggage had disappeared.

- My backpack came away, with boots and a little something else, says Brännmark.

"A little different" is in this case the key to the car that the national team parked at the airport, the car that Brännmark would drive the barely two hours up to Lenzerheide.

But on the same level were the SVT duo Jacob Hård and Anders Blomquist.

- I got to go with "Blomman" and Hård.

It was nice, so I hope I did not share too much with "Blomman", says Brännmark with a smile.

- We had interesting conversations.

CLIP: Norwegian anger after 15 km classic (December 29, 2021)

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Norwegian anger: "I was tackled by a Spaniard" Photo: SVT Play