By Teemu Virtanen
Yesterday, Team Ragde Eiendom opened their door to the secret chambers of the Aukland castle, and we learned that the knights in shining armor and their two noble maidens are readying themselves for the battle of the throne come the magical year of 2020.
But the fight will hair-raising as there are many other pro teams hungry to rule the kingdom, and today we enter the fortress of Team Serneke and let their fearless leader Martin Holmstrand tell us what battle strategy he has been constructing.
“Right now, we are preparing for the new season and we want to come back with a vengeance . We know we have a high potential, and the end of the season showed just that. We will strengthen the squad with a girl that I think has what it takes to really succeed in the long-distance circus.”
Martin is not yet ready to disclose the name of this new recruit, but he promises to do so when the team has their first training camp in Åland in the first week of June. The purpose of this gang gathering is to boost up their motivation and to build a strong team spirit.
“We will put much more focus on strength training during the pre-season than before,” Martin continues. “We have asked people from other sports, such as kayaking and crossfit, to assist us. Another new thing for us to do is to have all other camps in Torsby, Sweden, to cut down unnecessary travel time and have more measureable training sessions. We will participate in the Guide World Classic Tour where Anders Høst took home the champion title.”
In addition to running his pro team, Martin is setting his sights on a business venture; a merchandise shop selling products from his team. He says that he has modeled the idea on pro cycling where teams sell their gear and other things related to the sport. There is a special product that he feels extremely proud of as it has taken a year to create. And we get to hear about it once the shop opens this summer. But there is more to come from this enthusiastic innovator.
“Together with our sponsor Serneke we have worked hard to increase interest in skiing within the company and we now have an initiative where we have nine company teams who have participated in Stafettvasan, Vasaloppet’s relay race. More of that later, and we are also involved with a project aiming to build a new indoor skiing arena in Stockholm.”
A word of advice for the other pro teams; Team Serneke is sharpening their swords and stepping into the battlefield stronger than ever before – be aware of the underdog!
