Linn Sömskar and Hedda Bångman will represent Team Eksjöhus the coming winter.
“I missed a large part of Season XI due to injuries, which has made me even more motivated this year,” says Linn Sömskar in a press release.
Linn Sömskar and Hedda Bångman were part of Team Nordic Athlete last winter. Both made their first season in the Pro Tour. The team will now be Team Eksjöhus with Oskar Svärd as Pro Team manager, which we wrote about last week. The new team now aims for a Pro Team license.
Linn Sömskar has a lengthy background as a strong sprinter in the Swedish national team at both junior and senior levels. In parallel with her sprint career, she has for many years been the world’s best on roller skis with five individual World Cup golds and eight individual Swedish Championship golds. The 2020/2021 season was her first in the Pro Tour. Unfortunately, she suffered severe frostbite in the first race, Engadin La Diagonela, and was not back until Vasaloppet where she finished ninth. The best places in Season XI were the seventh places at La Diagonela and Årefjällsloppet.
“To Team Eksjöhus I take with me my long experience from elite skiing and international competition for over 16 years. Unfortunately, I missed a large part of last season due to injuries, which has made me even more motivated this year. Now I also have a better insight into what is required. Therefore, I will focus on building the toughness and endurance to take the step up on the podium next season. With the team’s support, I will aim, not completely unpredictably, for the green sprint bib,” says Sömskar in a press release.
As said before, 26-year-old Hedda Bångman did just like Sömskar her first season in the Pro tour last winter. Hedda has a background as one of Sweden’s best junior skiers, with several national championship medals and strong performances in the junior world championships on the merit list. She made her World Cup debut as a junior.
From 2017 to 2020, she studied in the USA, where she won the overall college cup and became American champion in the 20-kilometer classic. Then, a year ago, she moved back to Sweden with a new focus – long distance skiing. Her best placement in Season XI was twelfth place at Engadin La Diagonela.
“The decision to focus on long distance skiing emerged during the time in the US. I like double poling and felt that the Pro Tour could suit me well. The potential is there. My first season taught me a lot. I look forward to taking the next step in my venture with Team Eksjöhus. The goal is to go faster than last season and be stable in the top ten,“ says Bångman.
