Eva Urevc qualified – traditional difficult

Pair relay World Cup bronze medal Eva Urevc failed to qualify for the traditional sprint at the Ruka World Cup on Friday.

Urevc was 33rd, when the best 30 advanced. Break away from the first skier to Ana Stenseth came over nine seconds.

The Slovenian skier talked about his difficulties after qualifying.

– Coming to the games, I’m nervous. I have no confidence, he said.

Urevc’s last season was painful. He skied sixth in the free sprint in Dresden in December, but fell ill with the coronavirus disease in January, just before the Olympics.

The disease had a drastic effect on the body of the crossfit skier. Urevc’s physique has previously been compared to an Olympic champion Marit Björgen.

– I lost four kilos. I couldn’t train for a week, he commented in February.

Urevc qualified for the Beijing Olympics, but admitted that he was in bad shape. He was quarantined due to the inconclusive corona test. The local food didn’t stay inside either.

The individual sprint ended with qualifying. Urevc wanted to go home in the middle of the Olympics, but he still skied a pair relay.

Now my health is good, but the bravado of the Finns, the traditional way of skiing is causing difficulties.

– Traditional skiing has been difficult for me in recent weeks. I don’t get a good feeling on the track. I won’t be able to show my fitness in the games, even though everything has gone well in training.

– This is disappointing because I know what I’m capable of, he characterized his qualification.

Good displays

Urevc ended its last season after the Olympics. He only returned to the track in Beitostölen, Norway last week.

The Slovenian was 30th in the free sprint and tenth in the ten kilometer free race.

– I am satisfied with those games. I’m waiting to be able to ski sprint in the free. I definitely get confidence and motivation from it.

The Olympic champion qualified

Skied fourth in the Beijing Olympic sprint Rosie Brennan also failed to qualify in Ruka.

The US was 32nd. He feels that the problem on Friday was the initial stiffness.

– I felt good, but I wasn’t fast. This was the first race of the season. You have to start somewhere.

– The trainings have gone well. I guess I just needed to get back up to speed.

The batch phase starts at 1:30 p.m.