November 26, 2023, was a chilly day in Ruka, Finland. But for Moa Ilar, it is a day she remembers with warmth.

It was the day 26-year-old Ilar wrote her name in history as a World Cup winner in the 20-kilometer race.

Also Read: Moa Ilar winner at Ruka 20km mass start race

This was just one of Ilar’s series of outstanding performances early in the season.

The week before her first World Cup triumph, she won the Swedish premiere in Gällivare. The weekend after Ruka, when the World Cup came to Gällivare, she finished third individually and was a major contributor to Sweden’s victory in the relay.

“My last season gives me calm and confidence in my skiing. I learned a lot during the summer and the season that I can use for this and future seasons. I feel like I’ve found what I need and how to handle skiing both when things are going well and when things are going badly,” says Ilar to Langd.se.

After Christmas, Ilar lined up results just outside the top 20, but when the World Cup returned to Sweden and the World Cup final, Ilar climbed again and finished eleventh in the 10km race.

For the winter season, she has planned to make some training changes to keep a more consistent form throughout the competition season:

“My plan is to train a bit more, even during the season. I will have a bit more load, even during winter. Last season, I came into the racing season quite loaded. I had been at altitude, running a lot, roller skiing, and skiing. When the racing season started, I lost a bit of muscle tone, and I think that the good start made me a bit too passive and wanted to preserve my form. Now I’m going to organize my training differently also during the winter,” says Ilar.

Towards the end of the last dryland season (October), you and Frida Karlsson went to a high-altitude camp; is the plan to do the same this year?

“Yes, I responded very well to it. It was perhaps the best camp I have been to. I learned a lot, and it was incredibly nice with a camp where it was ‘just’ me, Frida, a coach, and a physio. I came home after the camp with good energy and feeling. I hope to do the same after the camp this year,” says Ilar.

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