If you are not one of the best among the cross-country elite, it is not entirely easy to make a living from your sport.

Whoever wins an individual stage in the World Cup receives over 100,000 Swedish kronor.

But whoever comes in twentieth place only gets just over a thousand kroner.

- If I hadn't done so well my first year as a senior, I would have had to work or study.

Then I might not have been able to put the same energy into skiing, then I might not have been standing here today, says Johanna Hagström.

- Look at the Norwegian national team.

If someone has a bad season, they can struggle to pay their rent, so there are big differences even in the Norwegian national team, says Ragnhild Haga, who won Olympic gold in 2018.

"It's not the point if they are Norwegians or Swedes"

On the men's side, the Norwegian skiers have collected by far the most with 7,125,000 kroner out of the roughly 10 million awarded in prize money.

Despite that, Norwegian Finn Hågen Krogh thinks that even fewer should receive prize money.

- I think there are too many people who receive prize money.

Only top six should get.

Then there would be even more money for Norwegians?

- It is not the point if it is Norwegians or Swedes who get the money.

Those who stand for good performance should be rewarded.

But Swede Eric Rosjö hits back against Krogh's criticism.

- I do not agree.

Somewhere you have to look at the breadth of the sport if you also want the top to get better.

I believe in benefiting more riders, he says.

See also: Norwegian dominance a problem in men's cross-country skiing: "We don't want to see this"

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Norwegian dominance a problem in men's cross-country skiing: "We don't want to see this" Photo: SVT/Bildbyrån