Ski Classics

Team Ragde Charge, the longest-running team in Ski Classics, enters Season XVIII with a rebuilt squad, five athletes in the top 15 of the SC Ranking, and a simple goal: make Ragde great again.  

Established in 2007 and owned by brothers Jørgen and Anders Aukland, the Pro Team has been part of the Ski Classics World Championship since the series began. After what the team itself calls a disappointing season, it has strengthened both the roster and the setup around it, with a new wax truck and an experienced wax technician. 

Six men line up for Season XVIII. Ski Classics Legend Andreas Nygaard, Season XV overall winner Johan Hoel, Mikael Gunnulfsen, and former sprint World Championship medalist Håvard Solås Taugbøl continue.  

They are joined by two arrivals from the disbanded Team Eksjöhus: Eirik Sverdrup Augdal, who won Marcialonga Bodø and Reistadløpet in Season XVI, and Thomas Ødegaarden, one of the world’s best climbers and the Season XV Youth bib winner. Pro Team License Owner Jørgen Aukland sees Hoel, Augdal and Ødegaarden as a trio who now race together instead of against each other. 

On the women’s side, Stina Nilsson, who won Engadin La Diagonela last winter, remains a key part of the team, and she is now joined by another strong skier in Sofie Elebro Lind, who arrives from Team Eksjöhus. Cubs skier Anna Aukland completes the squad. 

The new season has started well. Hoel and Nilsson won the opening long-distance events at Toppidrettsveka in Hitra in August. Nilsson went on to win the 90km Klarälvsloppet in September, and Taugbøl finished second in the men’s race, 0.6 seconds behind the winner.