By Teemu Virtanen
Anders Aukland is a name in the skiing world that we all know very well. This amazing skier is pushing 50 and still going strong. He finished 7th at Årefjällsloppet this past season, and he was only 12 seconds behind the winner and his teammate from Team Ragde Charge, Andreas Nygaard. He has 16 stage victories in the Visma Ski Classics Pro Tour, only behind Britta Johansson Norgren who has 21 number one spots.
He will be a guest in our Orsa2Levi podcast episode tomorrow, and he will talk about his sensational 700-kilometer workout on skis this spring, the Aukland method, his revitalized team, his long career and life in general.
“I’ve had a bit of a break since the winter, which was a good one. I had a long ski trip at the end of the ski season, and in May and June, I planned for the new season with my team. We’ve already had two summer camps. I’m in training now, but it’s certainly not an advantage to get older in sports. I love skiing, and it’s really cool to be part of Visma Ski Classics and long distance skiing next year as well.”
Aukland also won Olympic gold in the 4 x 10 km relay in 2002 and finished fourth and seventh in both pursuit and 50 km races at the same games. He also represented his country at the 2006 Olympics. He participated in the World Championships four times and won gold again in the relay in 2003 and two silvers at the individual events, the 30 km race in 2003 and the 50 km race in 2005.
In the podcast, the legend also looks back on those achievements and the beginning of his career when he was also an avid track runner, winning the Norwegian championships in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. He started long distance skiing inspired by his brother Jørgen, and the duo’s achievements and contributions to the sport have been immeasurable. In the upcoming broadcast, the skier takes walk down memory lane and recalls the early stages of the Visma Ski Classics tour, then only called Ski Classics.
”When the series started, it was separate from FIS and its Marathon Cup. The journey that has been made from the early days to today is amazing and truly professional. The sport has benefited greatly from this. I believe that Visma Ski Classics will develop even further and that the summer season, in particular, will become even more important in the future. It’s also great to see a lot more younger skiers doing well on the tour, which wasn’t the case 15 years ago.”
Today, Aukland’s training hours are much less than they were years ago, but the quality is still high. He is a firm believer in training with high intensity, and with his endurance and years of experience he can easily cut down the hours and focus on speed and intensity. The skier will tell you more about his training on tomorrow’s podcast. In addition to skiing, he also lets you take a peek at his private life while pondering what is still achievable in life.
Tomorrow, you can listen to Orsa2Levi on our site or on any podcast platform available.
