This somewhat new Pro Team aims to be number one this winter. The core of the team comes from Team Koteng Eidissen. There are extremely strong podium skiers and future stars on this team, and they are going the whole nine yards and want to leave no stone unturned next season.

Astrid Øyre Slind is one of the major stars of the sport. When everything clicks for her, she is impossible to beat. She is a Hall of Fame athlete with nine stage wins, and she was able to get four of those victories last season. She was also the third-best female skier in the Champion competition and won the prestigious Vasaloppet the previous winter. She is one of the biggest favorites to win the overall competition next season.

Astrid will get some help from her sister Silje who also has podium potential. She only finished La Diagonela last season but was fourth in that race. She took part in many Scandinavian Cup races and often finished close to the podium. At the Norwegian National Championships, she was fifth in the 15 km skiathlon race. If she races more in Ski Classics, her input will greatly fortify the team’s effort next season.

Chris Andre Jespersen started his Ski Classics career in 2017, but he had some odd races here and there even before that. It took him a long time to win a race, but that finally took place at La Diagonela in 2020. That was an emotional moment for Chris, and he has not been able to repeat the feat ever since. In total, he has 12 top-10 finishes, but the last one happened a week after his great victory in the Engadin Valley when he finished 10th at Marcialonga. His best result in 2022 was 12th at Ylläs-Levi, and in addition to that race, he succeeded in being among the top 20 skiers four times last winter.

The two transferred athletes, Max Novak and Stian Hoelgaard are the male skiers that this team puts its faith in. Max is the upcoming superstar of the sport who won his first Pro Tour race last winter. That race was Pustertaler Ski Marathon in early January, after which he managed to be in the top 10 in every race, except Vasaloppet, 15th, and Jizerská50, 22nd. He was third in the Champion competition and is naturally one of the favorites again.

Stian is a renowned podium skier who has yet to win a Pro Tour stage. It is bound to happen one of these days. He has a fantastic feat of five consecutive Vasaloppet podium places from 2016 to 2020. His first Pro Tour event was Jizerská50 in 2013, and ever since, he has been racing and hunting for his first victory like there is no tomorrow. On his quest, he has collected 15 podium places so far, and the chase continues.

Petter Stakston is an interesting name as he won the 90 km rollerski race, Klarälvsloppet, this fall and showed everyone that he is ready to rumble when the new season kicks off. Last winter, Birkebeinerrennet did not go that well for him, 83rd, but Reistadløpet and Ylläs-Levi were a different ball game as he finished 16th and 18th, respectively. This 25-year-old skier could be a new rising star in Ski Classics.

Vebjørn Moen has no previous experience with the hardship of Ski Classics, but he has gained some experience in World Cup and Scandinavian Cup ski racing, mainly in sprint skiing. Participating in Pro Tour races, he will have to take it to step by step and get a feel for it.

This team has power, experience, and winning talent, and if everything goes according to their plan, this gang can even become the number one Pro Team when the season is over. We will certainly see many podium place performances from these skiers, and possibly some Champion action as well.

Team Aker Dæhlie

• Country: Norway
• Pro Team Director: Joachim Aurland
• Pro Team Ranking: 4

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