The Ski Classics Season XV is now history, but preparations for the upcoming season are well underway. Hear about the past season and what lies ahead for the Danish Skimarathon Team.
The Danish Skimarathon Team is gearing up for its third season in Ski Classics. The team started in the winter of 2021 as a gathering of the fastest Danes interested in long-distance skiing, and after some planning, the first and only Danish Pro Team was registered for Season XIV.
After the winter, they completed another season in Ski Classics, ending up in 25th place overall in the Pro Team competition. This means they are guaranteed a Pro Team license for Season XVI.
Bjørn Toft, Pro Team Director and athlete, reflects on the team’s performance during Season XV:
“We started out thinking it would be easier this 2nd year, with the team composition initially and estimating points to be gained in team competition, etc. But it quickly turned out to be a very challenging season with long-term injuries, acute injuries, and sickness, keeping us from starting as many skiers as we had hoped. Because of these many challenges, I am relieved we obtained this last secure Pro-Team spot as 25th. We are aware that individual performances for our current team members are difficult in Ski Classics; this is why the team ranking has had high priority, and we made an even better team performance than we had communicated officially as being our season goal,” says Toft and adds:
“We have had big challenges with the skis and new rules concerning fluor-free skis, imposing a lot of stress. We all did a massive job for it to be green, but since we only have limited time and financial resources, maybe we didn’t have enough focus on having (choosing) the right skis. Now, having the right skis with the right structure is even more important than before, and we come too short here. For us in the lower ranks, it has been very frustrating to experience some skiers from start fields behind us passing like cannonballs downhill (even being lighter than us),” says the Pro Team Director and reflects:
“Seeing the gap increase towards the best skiers with massive ski parks, resources, and knowledge also is a challenge for us as a small team from a “developing ski country” in this period of change. I hope some of the knowledge will spread from the big teams, for example, how to choose what type of ski for different snow conditions and what type of structure to use so that the gap will become smaller. An app with AI, as ProXCskiing has written about already, would be something we would be very interested in and could decrease the knowledge gap from bigger teams towards smaller teams.”
Read More: Artificial intelligence helping the Swedish national team
Despite the challenges, what is the most memorable moment from the season?
“The relief that we made an actual result by re-qualifying as a Pro Team, I think, stands out as a Danish based xc team. Also, bringing in a young, promising skier in Valdemar Jorgensen, who is aiming for the Olympics 2028 in kayaking, was really cool and totally in our spirit coming from another sport but giving it the best possible in XC skiing based on our (lack of) snow culture.”
“The start in Bad Gastein was super cool also, giving the start of a first region Skåne skier in Ski Classics with Ebba Johansson was super cool! Lastly, obviously, Niina Virtanen’s win in Finlandia Hiihto was really cool, although not a Ski Classics race. This meant a lot to her, and seeing her crossing the line first in the team dress and, hence, a first-ever win for a Danish-based team in XC skiing was incredible. Niina had many struggles with unlucky illness, and seeing her succeed in one of her main goals despite this was great!”
Also Read: Two female skiers join the Danish Skimarathon Team
The story continues below.
What aspects did the Danish Skimarathon Team excel in during Season XV?
“We have all excelled in some way getting this tough puzzle of work, family, training racing, etc., to go up in a higher unit! Looking back, every point counted for us to get the above result, and individually, we showed great fighting spirit. This meant resolving team issues and, at the same time, trying to keep focus on also being skiers. We have been reactive in searching for opportunities to develop the team during the season with the premises we live under (self-paid). Lastly, Sune and I should probably have skipped some races due to injuries, but we fought through it, and overall, if anyone hadn’t done their share on the team, we would never have obtained the team ranking result. So, I would say we have excelled in navigating through a working career and family life with a passion for the sport, overcoming individual challenges to sacrifice many things to get the Ski Classics experience that gives such a kick and adrenaline!”
Read More – Danish Skimarathon Team: The self-financed Pro Team
In what areas do you see potential for further development?
“We would like to see some more younger Danish skiers aiming for long-distance skiing. This comes a bit in competition with the biathlon; it is obviously a fun sport, but we also must admit that there may be a bit more financing in this branch at the moment. We try to drive the focus towards the many crazy, beautiful ski venues you experience in long-distance skiing and hope that younger skiers can also see the value in this. Obviously at the same time that we try to get some finances, but this is very challenging at the moment.”
When do you expect to finalize your team for the upcoming season?
“We are working on the base of our team now and see some interesting possibilities with the new ‘cub system’ giving some young skiers a chance. We still have some free spots and would like to be represented by almost all of Scandinavia but as a Danish registered team. This means we also need some Norwegian skiers! We will generally keep our culture of being a workers’ team, that is, having our jobs and careers going hand in hand with our commitment to elite sport, a difficult task, but we also are very proud to be able to do so! We will keep looking for sponsors to develop the project and attract younger skiers without the resources as the rest of us have an established work career.”
Last but not least, what are your goals for Season XVI?
“We would obviously like to do at least as good as this year! We go into this season with an open mindset and a bit more relaxed shoulder. We would like to develop the project, but we are also aware that for this we need more financing, and we hope that since we are now guaranteed a place next year that it could facilitate this process, also attracting other skiers maybe,” concludes Pro Team Director Bjørn Toft.
Also Read: The complete Pro Team Ranking Season XV
Top Photo: Reichert/NordicFocus
