This German Austrian Pro Team enters the arena of long-distance skiing with six athletes whose youthful vigor lightens up their path to grander things. Four Ski-Willy Marathon Team Austria skiers hail from Germany and two from Austria.

The oldest of the Ski-Willy Marathon Team Austria bunch is a 27-year-old German, Josua Struebel, who managed to squeeze himself into the top 50 in two Pro Tour races last season. He was 38th at Jizerská50 and 48th at Vasaloppet. Christian Winker, 26, from Germany, has been on the Ski Classics circuit for some time, with his best result in the Pro Tour being 36th at Årefjällsloppet during Season XII. Lorenz Grueber, 23, from Austria, has not participated in any Ski Classics events so far, but he took part in some local long-distance ski races, among them Engadin Ski Marathon, where he finished 47th. Jacob Milz, 22, is a rising star in Germany with good results under his belt. He finished 4th in the 15 km skating race at the National Championships last winter, won a 50 km mass start classic race in Leutasch, and finished second in a 42 km skating race the day after. He certainly has a knack for long distances.

The two female athletes are still relatively inexperienced in long-distance skiing, but they have many years to hone their skills. Lou Renee Huth is only 18 and finished 9th in the 10 km skating race at the German Nationals. The other Austrian skier on the team, Anna Schmidhofer, 24, finished 31st at Engadin La Diagonela. Still, she took second place in the same race in Leutasch, where her teammate Jacob shone brightly. 

These young athletes possess great talent, and with proper training and dedication, they can reach the much-coveted level of greatness in the years to come. This season may be too soon for greater success, but if the stars align, they can show us how Ski-Willies fly on the snowy tracks of Ski Classics.

Ski-Willy Marathon Team Austria 

• Country: Austria
• Pro Team Director: Peter Kiene
• Pro Team Ranking: 32