“This was fun. It went well,” the young Swede said of his race week in Trondheim (NOR) after crushing the World Cup elite and the long-distance pros.
Madshus junior Alvar Myhlback was third overall at the prestigious 4-day roller ski festival Toppidrettsveka in Norway in August. The 17-year-old was ONE scant second from beating the world’s best cross-country ski racer Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR) and triple reigning World Champion Simen Hegstad Krüger (NOR).
Moreover, Myhlback excelled in all distances and both techniques throughout the 4-day event when he was sixth at the 54-kilometer classic race, the opening race of Toppidrettsveka and third in the classic sprint.
After finishing 16th at the 20-kilometer skiathlon (featuring a 10-kilometer classic leg followed by a 10-kilometer skate leg), he charged into third place overall in the final 12-kilometer skate pursuit...and he did it after starting more than a full minute behind the leader.
“I didn’t really expect this, so that made it extra fun. It’s always a good feeling when I can exceed my expectations,” Myhlback says.
The last two races of the 4-day roller ski event took place at the brand-new venues in Granåsen in Trondheim, the host of the 2025 FIS Nordic World Championships.
The courses in Granåsen are still under construction and this was the first time the World Cup racers had a chance to check out the layout of what will be the championship courses in a year and a half – part of which only opened two days prior to Toppidrettsveka. Accordingly, the already prestigious event attracted a very competitive field this year.
Inspired by Klæbo
Being beat only by Klæbo and Krüger on the last stretch to the finish line in the final pursuit race inspires and motivates Myhlback.
“My strategy for the final pursuit race was just to maintain an even effort and hang on to the lead group, and then try to surge and break away on the final stretch to the finish line. But Klæbo is smarter than everyone else out there. I’m not quite there yet,” Myhlback explains.
Now, the 17-year-old hopes to do more of the same “for real” on snow, both at the World Cup and international championships.
“This sure was fun, so we’ll see what opportunities might arise,” he says, emphasizing that he is keeping all options open.
Aiming for gold in 2025
“This is hands-down one of the most awesome races I’ve ever done. I will be back in a year and a half. Then I will win,” Myhlback said to Langrenn.com after the final pursuit.
He is crystal clear: The 2025 FIS Nordic World Championships in Trondheim is a defined overall goal.
The World Cup is the first step on the road to the championship team. At the time of the statement in Granåsen, the 17-year-old still has not discussed his options with the Swedish national team, but he would like to. He plans to do it in his usual fashion: Let his legs do the talking.
“If you are going to make it onto the World Cup team, you have to perform, and I haven’t talked with the national team. But I hope to do that this fall leading up to the start of the season,” says Myhlback matter-of-factly.
Moving up to the top
After finishing third overall at Toppidrettsveka, Myhlback moved on to the equally prestigious and star-studded race weekend Trollhättan Action Week in Sweden.
There, he was on track to win the 48-kilometer Alliansloppet on Saturday August 26, only to lose the victory to a pole break on the last stretch to the finish line.
Fueled partly by fury and revenge, the Swede then concluded the race weekend on home turf by winning the 15-kilometer classic race the next day.
Doing the double
Myhlback decided early on to focus on long-distance racing, and as of last year, then only 16 years old, he landed a contract with the Swedish Ski Classics Pro Team Lager 157 Ski Team.
In his first-ever attempt at the 90-kilometer Vasaloppet last winter, Myhlback finished eighth where he was only seconds from the seasoned marathon pros on the podium.
Although he has a contract with Lager 157 Ski Team and plans to race all the major long-distance races this season, Alvar Myhlback is not ready to quit traditional distance racing.
“I’m still young and I have a lot of years ahead of me. I haven’t even decided when I have to decide. I will keep racing a mix of both long-distance and traditional cross-country skiing. I’m continuing to train for both, so we’ll see where I end up.”