Under Crete's burning sun, Andreas Holmberg and Emil Persson, Lager 157 Ski Team and Nils Persson, Team Engcon, prepare for season XI.
"We took a last minute trip here. There are top conditions for roller skiing. Wide roads with good asphalt and little traffic, says Andreas Holmberg.
Andreas, Emil and Nils escaped the autumn weather in Östersund, in the middle of Sweden, for a week with a lot of training in the heat and sun on Crete.
"Earlier, I have gone to Mallorca a couple of times for training in the autumn. Now it became Crete and I am pleasantly surprised. It's really great for training here," says Andreas.
The trio is located just west of Chania and roller skiing and runs in the mountains around.
On Monday, they went 75 km on roller skis with a really long climb between 30 and 40 kilometers. It was a sweaty workout, the thermometer showed over 30 degrees Celcius.
"It was a nice workout but the heat was tough. It felt like the Persson brothers managed the heat better than me," says Holmberg with a smile.
Monday's roller ski workout in the mountains of Crete. PICTURE: From Andreas Holmberg's Strava account.
Do you see any other athletes on roller skiers on the roads down there?
"No, but we have encountered some cyclists."
In season X, Andreas finished second in Visma Ski Classic's Climb competition behind Morten Eide Pedersen. In Marcialonga, he finished 6th and best Swede.
"I'm eager to fight for the Climb bib again. The goal is to perform better than last season and keep an evenly good shape in January and February," says Andreas.
Andreas' teammate Emil was the big surprise in Visma Ski Classics last season with his two victories; in the Livigno prologue and Kaiser Maximilan Lauf. Emil's brother Nils, who represents Team Engcon, impressed a lot in Vasaloppet where he finished in 7th place.
Immediately after the camp in Crete, Andreas and Emil carry off to Båstad, Skåne in the south of Sweden, where Lager 157 Ski Team will have a training camp next week. It will be two weeks in a row with a lot of roller skiing for them.
"Then the plan is that we step on snow in Orsa Grönklitt (a ski destination with artificial snow 30 km north of Mora) November 1, Holmberg ends.
