Ski Classics

Austria’s longest-standing Pro Team enters its eleventh season in Ski Classics, headlined by the signing of a Spanish World Cup veteran. 

Established in 2015 in Salzburg as Skimarathon Team Austria, the team grew from six founding members to over 30 athletes today, becoming the first Austrian cross-country skiing team to achieve Ski Classics Pro Team status. The squad’s long-term goals remain ambitious: achieving victories and podium finishes in national and international long-distance races, fostering young talent outside standard squad structures, and acting as role models and mentors for the sport. 

Nine athletes continue from last season: Jonathan Göppert, fresh off a runner-up finish at a Roller Ski World Cup round in Val di Fiemme, Markus Köcheler, Matthias Waldauf, Nicole Tröger, Florian Göbel, now with 63 Pro Tour events to his name since Season V, Cecil Kümpel, and Aaron Gunnarsson, alongside Amanda Nyfors and Florian Döringer, who both joined partway through last season. Nyfors arrived after Team Mäenpää dissolved, following a stretch where three of the team’s female athletes were sidelined by long-term health problems. 

Max Göther and the headline addition, Spanish World Cup skier Imanol Rojo García, join as the team’s two new signings for Season XVIII. Rojo made his World Cup debut in 2012 and was crowned Roller Ski World Champion in 2024. His main targets for the season are Marcialonga and Vasaloppet, alongside both Bad Gastein event weekends.