Christmas time is here, and today ProXCskiing had a chat with Pro Tour athlete Magnus Vesterheim from Team Kaffebryggeriet.
In a casual talk, ProXCskiing talked to Magnus Vesterheim, Team Kaffebryggeriet, about his season preparation, first races in the Ski Classics Season XIV, plans for the upcoming competitions, and of course, whether to have a workout or not on Christmas Day.
Vesterheim has been around the Pro Tour circuit for some years and is capable of outstanding achievements on the ski tracks. He was 6th at Vasaloppet in 2018, 6th at Birkebeinerrennet, and 5th at La Venosta Time Trial last winter. The past season was undoubtedly his most remarkable so far, as he managed to be in the top 10 four times.
With 46 Ski Classics Pro Tour and 9 Ski Classics Challengers starts, Magnus is currently in 8th place at the Yellow Champion bib overall and 13th in the Climb competition. This after a 10th place at the Bad Gastein Criterium and 14th place at the La Venosta Criterium this Season.
Most long-distance skiers were traditional cross-country skiers. This means that they started competing at a young age and eventually fell in love with the world of long-distance skiing. But Magnus Vesterheim followed a different path. He was a football player in Norway who stepped into the military service and decided to try to set a World Record for crossing Greenland. While training for the record, Magnus became a skier.
Read More – Magnus Vesterheim: The Football Player Who Became A Pro Tour Skier
Now that you know more about Magnus enjoy this Christmas talk!
Magnus, congratulations on your races so far at Ski Classics Season XIV. How was Bad Gastein Criterium and La Venosta Criterium for you? Do you think these ‘shorter’ races fit your characteristics?
“Thanks for that! Individually, the races before Christmas were not as good as I had hoped. But I am number 8 overall, and I am happy with that. This gives opportunities for the new year. Personally, I think the longer races suit me much better. Historically, I have my best races with a mass start in the races that are over 50 kilometers, and I think this year’s Season will be no exception.”
And how was your preparation for the Winter Season? Did everything go according to plan? How about your goals for the rest of the Season?
“The training has gone exactly as planned, and apart from a tired body after a tough training camp in October, I have been able to do what I was supposed to.”
“Now I am in an important training period which will lay the foundations for the real Season. There, I aim to improve from last year and hopefully climb onto the podium. In addition, I will make a small attempt at the Sprint or the Climb bib.”
Magnus is an experienced long-distance skier with an interesting approach to traditional cross-country skiing races before the start of the Ski Classics season.
“Due to my non-traditional entry into cross-country skiing, I have never trained for traditional cross-country skiing. So, for my part, it has always been about getting routines in for mass starts and routines in relation to testing skis and times and dealing with them. For me, it is all about Ski Classics.”
And now Christmas time has arrived. Magnus has already planned his workout on Christmas Day, depending on the weather outside.
“As I said, this is an important training period, and the Christmas season is no excuse to deviate from this. So, this year the plan is to train for 4 hours with intervals towards the end. But I’m in northern Norway this Christmas, so if it’s snowing hard and there’s a northerly wind, I’ll be training on the SkiErg indoors,” and continues:
“Otherwise, it’s quite normal. I eat ‘pinnekjøtt’ (a traditional Norwegian dish based on lamb ribs) with the family; otherwise, I rest as best I can.”
And as it could not be missing, Christmas is a time for reflection and some presents. Magnus reveals what he expects to receive from Santa Claus.
“I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll get some good warm socks and warm underwear for Christmas this year. So that I will handle the freezer in La Diagonela this year,” concludes Vesterheim.
The upcoming Ski Classics Pro Tour event is Pustertaler Ski Marathon, a 62km classic technique event in Italy on January 14, followed by Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge, a 30km race also in Italy on January 15, 2023.
Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XIV (2022/2023)
- Event 1: December 10, 2022 – Bad Gastein PTT, Bad Gastein, Austria, 15km
- Event 2: December 11, 2022 – Bad Gastein Criterium, Bad Gastein, Austria, 35km
- Event 3: December 17, 2022 – La Venosta Criterium, Val Venosta, Italy, 36km
- Event 4: January 14, 2023 – Pustertaler Ski Marathon, Sexten, Italy, 62km
- Event 5: January 15, 2023 – Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge, Niederdorf, Italy, 30km
- Event 6: January 21, 2023 – Engadin La Diagonela, Engadin Valley, Switzerland, 55km
- Event 7: January 29, 2023 – Marcialonga, Trentino, Italy, 70km
- Event 8: February 12, 2023 – Jizerská50, Bedrichov, Czech Republic, 50km
- Event 9: February 18, 2023 – Grönklitt Criterium, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 50km
- Event 10: February 19, 2023 – Grönklitt ITT, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 15km
- Event 11: March 5, 2023 – Vasaloppet, Sälen-Mora, Sweden, 90km
- Event 12: March 18, 2023 – Birkebeinerrennet, Rena-Lillehammer, Norway, 54km
- Event 13: April 1, 2023 – Reistadløpet, Setermoen-Bardufoss, Norway, 40km
- Event 14: April 2, 2023 – Summit 2 Senja, Bardufoss- Finnsnes, Norway, 67km
More information about the Ski Classics Pro Tour you can find at skiclassics.com
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