SIX NAMES ARE NOMINATED FOR THE PRO TEAM DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD IN VISMA SKI CLASSICS.
Ylläs-Levi will end the Visma Ski Classics Season IX, and the winners of all competitions will be awarded at the final banquet in Levi on Saturday. Among the awards, there is a category, the Pro Team Director of the Year, that reflects all the hard work, passion and dedication an individual can grant to the sport of long distance skiing.
Six directors have been selected, and all of them have demonstrated extraordinary directorial skills, unwavering dedication and unconditional love for skiing.
The nominees are:
Gustaf Korsgren – Team Ramudden
Vetle Thyli – Team Kaffebryggeriet
Kim Mäenpää – Team Mäenpää
Tore Björseth Berdal – Team Koteng
Lukas Bauer – eD System Bauer Ski Team
Anton Järnberg – Lager 157 Ski Team
Korsgren’s mission statement is to bring in more young and talented skiers to Visma SkiClassics, Thyli started his team from scratch and built a strong squad that has shown their passion for the sport, Mäenpää has managed to form the first successful pro team in Finland paving the way for other teams to follow, Berdal won Vasaloppet due to his team’s brilliant tactical move just before the finish and he has proven, like Thyli, that you can be a successful athlete and director at the same time, Bauer has put together a multi-cultural team with athletes from different countries and Järnberg runs the best Swedish team with professional attitude and persistent devotion.
They all say that a good team director needs to able to listen to his team members, encourage and motivate people around him and work relentlessly for the sake of his team. The work is not always just a walk in the park since they need to spend long hours on negotiating with sponsors and partners, updating their social media sites, ensuring the best possible workout facilities for their teams and making all travel arrangements for training camps and races.
But they all do it because they are passionate about long distance skiing and they want to develop the sport by contributing their personal input to the fullest extent possible.
“It will be a really appreciated symbol of the hard work that I have been putting down the last two years,” Thyli says thankfully. “Starting from scratch all by myself building the team, and then get a reward like this will mean a lot for the motivation in building the team further.” Vetle Thyli
“Visma Ski Classics has now a great core of genuine skiing soul,” Gustaf says promptly. “I think we have a responsibility to give more chances for young athletes, especially girls, to be a part of the long distance family. From them, the future stars will come out!” Gustaf Korsgren
“One needs to be a good listener and always try to find good motivation for all team members during the entire year. It is important to take everyone’s role into account, not only the skiers.” Anton Järnberg
“This nomination, and the award if I happen to win it, goes to the whole team,” Kim says without hesitation. “We have worked together for a common goal and it is now paying off!” Kim Mäenpää
“For sure winning this title would be a huge recognition off the work that has been done this season,” Tore states proudly. “Before the season our team was not seen good enough for top 3 in the team competition, and we are in a perfect spot before the last race to take it.” Tore Björseth Berdal
“Honestly I’m sure that there are better candidates for the title than me. For me, It’s important to build a team that has both the managing and sport sides in order. I think I have achieved my mission so far!” Lukas Bauer
