21st in the Ski Classics Team Competition in Season XII, the highest placed Finnish team seeks to improve on the upcoming season. Pro Team director Eric Storvall reflects on the past years accomplishments and looks forward to the upcoming season.
While the team had some cases of illness that caused some skiers to step aside during the winter, the season marked a positive step forward for the Pro Team. When Edux became the main sponsor of the team in August 2021, it allowed to have more athletes. Earlier this month, the team confirmed that Edux will continue as a main sponsor for the 2022/2023 season as well.
“This was pretty much what was realistic to us, best Finnish team and close to top 20. We sought to offer our athletes the best possible conditions to compete in the races we participated in with a high-level service,” Storvall explains. Ylläs-Levi was the highlight of the season for the team, racing on the home turf. He also highlights Noora Kivikko’s performances with several top20s that brought important points to the team.
For the upcoming season, Team Edux has recruited Isac Holmström, who previously competed for the Czech Vltava Fund Ski Team. As one of the best Finnish male athletes in Ski Classics, Holmström will be a strong addition to the team. His best result in Season XII was 34th place in Vasaloppet and his highest result in the Pro Tour so far is 28th place from Toblach-Cortina in 2021.
Otherwise, the team composition is yet to be finalized.
“The team is almost finalized but we are still having discussions with some athletes. At this point we can reveal that both Noora Kivikko and Niina Virtanen are continuing,” Storvall says and adds that they will not fill up all the spots in the team, leaving some room, for example, for World Cup skiers who would want to participate in few races at the end of the season or while the Pro Tour is in Central Europe.
Last year the team composition and sponsors were confirmed relatively late, and the team got together for only one training camp before the season, which Storvall sees as one of the biggest developmental points for the upcoming season.
“We have a draft for training camps that will take place in Finland and Åland (an autonomous archipelago in Finland) and we are planning to have training camps this summer, then in August, October, and November.”
As the density and level of the field are rapidly rising in Ski Classics, it has become more challenging to place in the top positions in both the Pro Team competition and individual results than in the past. Having more training camps enables the athletes to train together and improve their level, which Storvall sees necessary, to be able to fight for the top positions on the Pro Tour.
“I think we can be top 15 in the team competition, and I would like to see each athlete taking steps forward and raising their level. We want to be visible on TV, fight for sprints and stay in the lead group until the end.”
“I feel like Ski Classics is becoming more and more popular in Finland, which is only a positive thing. The overall level in Ski Classics is rising year by year, which is why we have to improve our function as a team and as individual athletes, we need higher level athletes and more experience,” Storvall concludes.
