Kati Roivas gets an offer and decides to join Team Næringsbanken after spending two years on the Ski Classics circuit with Team Nordic Experience. Roivas talks with ProXCskiing about this new opportunity.
Three times in the top 10, and we can say Roivas is one of the rising stars on the Pro Tour Season XII. She got 10th place at Ylläs-Levi, 9th at Tartu Maraton, and 8th at La Diagonela, finishing 9th overall in the Yellow bib competition.
Why did you choose to go to a new Pro Tour team?
“I got a good opportunity that I believe will make me stronger as a skier, which is the biggest reason I chose to change the team. It was not an easy decision to leave a team (Team Nordic Experience) that I had been two years, as many things worked well for me. Still, after considering all aspects, I decided that it is time to discover how it will be with a Norwegian team and what new aspects it can bring to my training and racing.”
What are your ambitions for next year after your great season? Are you aiming for your first top 5?
”I think my most significant focus is to become a more consistent top 10 skier and be able to ski on the lead group longer. With that comes, of course, expectations to place higher in the result list. This season, I already managed to do that for a while in some races, and, to reach the top 5, I will have to be able to hang on longer. For me, choosing to continue to invest in long-distance skiing means that I want to take the next step as a skier and be closer to the top girls.”
What will be the most significant changes with your new Pro Team?
”Time will tell, but I will be going to training camps in Norway. I think that I will do less altitude training than last season. But training camps are still once a month like last year, maybe slightly more intensity, if I will be able to do more roller ski races. And now that I have finally learned to understand French, I guess I will have to learn Norwegian or try to manage with Swedish, but my Swedish is very rusty,” says Roivas laughing.
Are there any changes about your coach?
”In the past two seasons, Maxime Grenard (Team Nordic Experience) has done the training plans/structure for me, and he really did a great job with this. I think I have found a way that works well for me and I want to thank him for that. I do not feel that I need to make significant changes in training. Of course, I have some developmental points that I want to improve and will focus on. This season, I will probably take more responsibility for the training myself, but I plan to have someone look at the overall structure.”
What are your expectations about joining Team Næringsbanken?
”Of course, I look forward to becoming a better skier, and I hope that I can benefit from training with other girls in the training camps. I believe that it can benefit all of us, as we have different strengths. I am also looking forward to experiencing the Norwegian ski culture in general.”
