By Theresa Fugger
The former Visma Ski Classics Pro Team – Team Forever Nordic – starts into Season X with a new main Sponsor and a new name – Team Tri Nordic Coaching. After losing the main sponsor shortly before the start of Season IX, the Pro Team’s future was on a knife edge, but giving up was never an option, and now the athletes can breathe easily again.
Following long considerations, Pro Team Manager Sven Münch decided not to let go of his dream project and is now leading the Pro Team together with one of his best friends, Stefan Schmid. Stefan turns out to be one of the world’s best IRONMAN professional athletes. He won IRONMAN Cozumel (Mexico) in 2015, reached five further podiums at IRONMAN competitions and can boast with a personal best of under 8 hours. After great successes Stefan quit his professional career as triathlete this summer and puts full focus on his business Tri Nordic Coaching and its expansion from triathlon to cross-country skiing.
“Both, long distance skiing and triathlon are endurance sports where tactics play a crucial role”, Stefan Schmid states. In order to show the similarities, he plans to compete in a number of Visma Ski Classics events in Season X.
New name – new team
The team consists of five men and one strong German woman holding it all together. Melina Schöttes has already Visma Ski Classics experience as the best German woman at Vasaloppet and Jizerska 50 in 2019. Marius Cebulla brings some World Cup experience and will transform from being one of Germany’s best sprinters to a long distance skiing professional such as the German long distance skiing champion, Nils Weirich. The ex pro cyclist Patrick Ottilinger shows together with Stefan Schmid that also summer sports athletes can race fast in winter. Finally, the Swedish contribution to the otherwise all German team, Erik Melin Söderström, is definitely a competitor to watch out for as he ranked 25that last year’s Vasaloppet.
With this new Pro Team compilation, Team Tri Nordic Coaching has one big goal for the upcoming season: Be the best German long distance skiing Pro Team and show off in the biggest races like Marcialonga and Vasaloppet and of course, use this to push long distance skiing interest in Germany in order to trigger German TV coverage and consequently create a platform for young talents to follow their dreams of long distance skiing.
“We will work hard to increase the cross-country skiing popularity in Germany and wish to see our favorite event König Ludwig Lauf back in Visma Ski Classics soon”, says Sven Münch.
The mission is clear, and Team Tri Nordic Coaching is fully focused on their last preparations for the soon approaching Season X. And Sven calls for unity and togetherness in our sport hoping things will grow in the years to come.
“There can only be a successful cross-country skiing future if we all work together in the same direction.”
