Madshus turbo talent Alvar Myhlback (16) of Sweden parked the established elite in the 40-kilometer Tanumsloppet this weekend.
Halfway through the race, Myhlback and one other racer got a gap on the main group. Then, with 10 kilometers to the finish, 16-year-old Myhlback surged again.
“I had a good feeling even before the start of the race. After 20 kilometers, Thomas Giftstand and I got a gap on the main group. It wasn’t actually planned that way, but I didn’t want to just lollygag along with the rest of the field. I wanted a real workout, but nobody stepped up, so I just decided to go my own pace and I got a gap right away,” Myhlback said after his victory.
“Ten kilometers from the finish, I played all my cards. It was pretty hectic towards the end, but I’m glad I held the gap all the way.”
Myhlback beat Max Novak (SWE), who was third overall in the 2022 Ski Classics and won the FIS season opener in Gällivare in November, by 21 seconds in Sunday’s roller ski race. Myhlback had a 48-second gap down to Giftstand in third place.
Promising talent
It is hardly the first time the young power pack outperforms the established elite.
This winter Myhlback won the silver medal in the team sprint at the Swedish senior national championships.
He also won the prestigious Craft Ski Marathon, but was disqualified because at 15, he was too young to formally enter the race.
Competing with the rest of the World Cup elite, Myhlback was 12 in the brutal uphill roller ski race Lysebotn Opp at the international Blink festival in Norway the first week of August. And at the Swedish national roller ski cup in Falun in July, Myhlback was fourth, only half a minute behind Swedish national team racer William Poromaa.
Myhlback is now headed for the ski academy in Torsby, where he will pursue both academics and athletics for the coming years.
Photo by: @Lager 157