This wintery Pro Team from Russia is the sole representative of their legendary cross-country ski nation in Visma Ski Classics, but they are fighting tooth and nail against the Scandinavian teams.

Ermil Vokuev started his Visma Ski Classics career at Jizerska Padesatka, 4^th, in 2017, and since then he has become the best Russian skier in the Pro Tour with his two victories, three third and three fourth places. Last season, he won Toblach-Cortina.

Alexey Shemiakin is the other athlete in the team who has been on the podium. He was third at La Diagonela in 2020. Last winter, he managed to be in the top-20 in two races while Aleksandr Grebenko was a bit more successful with his three top-20 finishes, of which Jizerska Padesatka’s 11^th place was his season best.

Maxim Vylegzanin was one of the best Russian World Cup skiers with his three silver medals at the Olympics and five medals at the World Championships, one gold, and seven individual World Cup victories and 24 podium places. He became a permanent member of Russian Winter Team in 2020, and ever since he has been quite close to the top. Last season, his best performance was Jizerska Padesatka’s 5^th place, but he also finished 10^th at Marcialonga, 8^th at Vasaloppet and Tåssåsen Criterium 64.

Andrei Kuznetsov is a new member with no major international merits, but he was 6^th in the sprint race at the Junior U23 World Championships last winter. Dina Nekrasova did three races last winter, and her best race was Vålådalsrennet where she found her name as the 13^th best female skier in the result list. Elizaveta Shalaboda finished 6^th in the 30 km classic mass start race at the National Championships last winter, and Olga Tsareva has been part of Visma Ski Classics for two seasons. She has pushed herself into the top-10 six times in two years.

The director Andrey Tyuterev is highly optimistic about his team’s chances in Season XII:

“In the coming season, our team traditionally sets the highest goals for ourselves. We are here to fight for the podium in the Pro Team competition, for the prestigious “colored bibs”, and individual podiums in every race.”

Pro Team director: Andrey Tyuterev

Country: Russia

Ranking: 4.

Athletes: http://www.vismaskiclassics.com/pro-skiing/pro-teams/russian-winter-team/