Edvin Anger: "I'm not built to lose 10 kilos"

A spark was lit in 16-year-old Edvin Anger when he was rejected from the national ski school in Torsby. The school said it saw no development potential in him. Afterwards, via detours, he was told another explanation: that with his 192 centimeters and almost 90 kilograms, he had the wrong body shape to be seen as a promising international skier.

- For me, it became a motivation to prove that "they are wrong, I can ride faster than exactly everyone at that high school". And make them feel a little ashamed.

The talent's development continued instead at the high school in Mora, where coach Annlouise Almqvist "always showed the way and believed in one". After that, coach Lars Ljung has meant a lot.

- He welcomed me with open arms. He saw no problem with me being heavier, he still thought I could become the best skier in the world, says Anger over lunch at Östersund's ski stadium.

The 24-year-old is one of those who disproved the old "truth" of cross-country skiing that a light body is an advantage. He took his first World Cup victory in 2025 ahead of a WC where he took two relay bronzes and has stood on the podium a further 14 times. At the same time, opinions about his body size have been a companion.

- You hear quite often that "if you lose 10 kilos, you can be as good as you want". But I know myself that I'm not built to look like that. If I had lost 10 kilos, my VO2 max (the body's maximum oxygen absorption capacity) would have followed on the way down as well, but some grumpy old men don't understand that.

Have you been affected by those kinds of comments anyway?

- I don't think I've cared about what others say, but it's probably more my own thoughts that "maybe I can lose a kilo to see how it feels", and then it's easy for it to be two kilos instead and then you end up in a negative energy balance for far too long.

- That was probably what happened last year, that things happened a little too quickly. You must have a very good grasp of what you are doing.

In the morning, Edvin Anger went lap after lap on Östersund's roller ski tracks.

Subzero temperatures have made some parts very slippery. The sun warms from a clear blue sky, but where the rays do not reach, the white frost remains on the asphalt all day.

The almanac says the end of October - the skier's longing for snow is great.

The availability of snow was one of the reasons why the move in 2024 went from the village of Rensbo outside Hedemora to here. At first he shared an apartment with his girlfriend at the time, but since last spring he lives in a terraced house, within walking distance of the ski stadium.

- I guess I've never been really comfortable in an apartment, says the man whose upbringing in the country was characterized by helping out with his grandfather, later uncle, on the farm across the road.

- Houses are much more flexible, the car is right outside and I can go out, and it will be much more spacious... I can have training clothes in the basement and get rid of all that and when I get up to the main floor then it's not even work, then you're at home.

But house, that's a lot of adult points.

- Yes (laughter)!

What other things in your life give adult points?

- Good question. I don't have a dog yet, but I do have a car. I read Dagens Industri and agricultural newspaper, it must be adult points. I probably spend a lot of time on Dagens Industri, I read it every day and follow the market, I think it's quite fun.

Edvin Anger says that he follows his stock savings, but that in the future he would like to invest in forests or some real estate. He says that he has always been good at keeping money, thinking about his future self.

Were you the kind of child who put the weekly allowance straight into the piggy bank?

- I probably never got a weekly allowance. I probably had to work it together, had to drive a tractor and load hay and then you got a small penny. But I don't think I ever ran out of money then.

What do you do that is not as grown up?

- It might be a bit of Playstation, not that much, but it's a fun way to hang out with friends from home, a bit of NHL and Fortnite.

But here Anger has a problem. He has always been a competitive person.

- Things I'm not good at, I'd rather not do them, he says and explains that it can even be difficult to be exposed to such things.

He avoids dancing. He doesn't play a lot of cards – "maybe because I don't think it's fun to lose" – or other board games like Monopoly – "I'm not driven by things that have to do with luck". Quizzes falls into the "I'm completely miserable" category, so when the national team has competitions, he makes sure to end up on a team with someone who is better.

- I'd rather do things that I know I'm good at and that don't destroy one's self-confidence to the very bottom.

But if you don't play so many video games anymore, can you handle playing with the Poles then?

- No (new laughter). It's damn funny, but you get pissed off.

Edvin Anger was a talent on skis right from the start. As he remembers, one of three or four boys who rode for victory in every race. The fact that he was not always the best taught him that it was important to do a good job all the time.

Making the leap from talent to contending for World Cup victories can be difficult. Why did the 24-year-old succeed?

- When I decide on something, I do it all in. It's probably a bit of stubbornness and a bit of fucking embrace and those peasant genes.

- What has driven me in recent years is "how good can I be?, how fast can I ski?". It is something that motivates me a lot.

A big challenge has been teaching his big body to be more resilient. At the same time, maintaining speed and being able to sprint for a victory is still a challenge.

- An equation all skiers struggle with, but if you solve it, you're the best.

As success has come on snow, opportunities have opened up for Anger's parallel interest in running. In May, a project of the heart became a reality, when he revived a dormant competition at home in Hedemora.

The realized dream, "Anger TT run", is about giving something back to the place that shaped him, the safe point where he feels he can truly be himself. And to do something together with the entire village and all the private, smaller sponsors who have been on the trip since he was young.

- You are welcome to get up quickly but don't come down too quickly.

Coach Ola Ravald instructs during the afternoon's impulse session. The 30-second intervals are pure technique training, to get tension in the spinal cord. Anger must feel that it is in his body when it comes to a sprint in the winter competitions.

The collaboration is new. After four good years with Lars Ljung, the WC hope needed a new ignition, someone who could come up with new ideas. They are still at the getting-to-know-each-other stage, Ravald explains – he knows exactly how Linn Svahn, whom he has trained for many years, will react to different sessions and eventually he will be able to see in the same way when Edvin, for example, needs to take it easy.

Now that the sun is setting over the ski stadium, things are not going smoothly. Ola Ravald films when his mentee patters by for the fourth time.

- I lost my stomach too much, states Anger when he sees the video.

Everything in Edvin Anger's life now is about optimizing his body in order to perform as well as possible. The hope is that the skiing career will provide financial security for the rest of his life and an opportunity to buy a farm, and that he can then devote himself to another type of optimization.

- Farming is not known for getting rich, but I still think it's a fun challenge. I am passionate about how to get bigger yields.

For someone who claims not to think too much about the future, the plan still seems pretty clear.

- I want to have some animals of my own and live on what I raise, butcher my own meat and have vegetables from the country.

37–20–42 in the individual Olympic races, and also 10th and last team in the men's relay and 10th team in the sprint relay. It's not a happy line of results for someone who wants to be the best in the world.

Edvin Anger pulled the hood of his jacket further and further down over his face and his answer in the interview zone in Val di Fiemme became more and more of a mumble.

- It wasn't a period when you felt the best in your life, he says now about the big dream that ended in pancakes.

After a roller-coaster season, a little hope had been lit after a third place in the World Cup. But on location in Italy he felt "I can't do myself justice out there".

The analysis now in retrospect reads that he passed away during the autumn. Too much training combined with too little energy, in an attempt to find shape too soon.

- I was burned. When you approach the season, you want to optimize as much as possible, and it is very easy to cross that line of eating a little too little when you have to compete and need more energy.

Should you have picked up the signal earlier?

- I saw clear signals. I saw that my max heart rate was not up there where it should be. The body was not ready to go fast. It didn't really want to cooperate, so I had to work hard with my head.

How did you get out of that mental slump?

- I have experienced setbacks before. I know that it usually works quite well to just reset, come home to Hedemora and be with friends, just completely ignore the skis.

Thinking about your career choice?

- You can safely say that. You ask yourself why you are doing this and why you are putting yourself through something so physically and mentally stressful.

You become vindictive from setbacks. How big a spark is the Olympics ahead of this WC season anyway?

- Huge. I know how good everything was before the season and the year before. When I could really ride and my body wanted to ride forward. I carry with me that I know what I can do, but I also know that I mustn't make any mistakes along the way.

- I will be more responsive to how the body feels. Is it as weak as last year ... the best option would probably have been to get a zero early.

Because when the WC in Falun comes at the turn of February-March, the form must be at its best. The favorite is Norway with Johannes Høsflot Klæbo as spearhead.

- But I know that I am one of those who can challenge Johannes and the Norwegian Red Army.