Ski-Willy Marathon Team Austria stretches beyond the boundaries of traditional cross-country skiing and recruits Varvara Prokhorova from Russia. The 29-year-old Russian from the Moscow region is a true endurance sport athlete. Her greatest successes include the overall victory at the Russialoppet in 2021 and the Spartan Race World Champion title in 2019.
In addition, she has been successfully competing at the FIS Roller Ski World Cup for years. One of the PhD student's hobbies is mountaineering, and in recent years she has climbed Elbrus, the highest mountain in Russia at 5642 m, 14 times.
"This is just my beginning in the Visma Ski Classics circuit. My main goal is to learn to understand what this is really about. I also want to bring in as many points as possible to the team and be as successful as possible in every race I start. I need to understand what kind of races I can really be strong in now and also in the future. I have a good experience of being victorious in Russian long distance races, and I will rely on it. However, I want to emphasize the fact that this is new to me, and I must learn the trick of the trade as soon as possible. I hope next winter will be a successful season for me and the team,” Prokhorova says firmly.
“We are happy to have such a strong and positive athlete in the team. In her first Visma Ski Classics season, she will mainly gain experience but also be able to achieve many very good results. Due to her versatility, her ambition and her success, Varvara is certainly a role model for young athletes and an asset to the Visma Ski Classics Pro Tour,” Ski-Willy Marathon Pro Team Director Peter Kiene summarizes the importance of his new athlete.