By Teemu Virtanen
Yesterday, we got some news from Team ParkettPartner and today we’ll step into the world of Team Ragde Eiendom. We already know that there are two fresh female skiers in the team; Emilie Fleten and Thea Krokan Murud, and the comeback king Petter Eliassen is the new force in the gang.
But let’s get going with some newsworthy bits that you may not know; Magnar Dalen has renewed his contract and will be the team’s sport director at least until 2021, training-wise the team’s main focus is on improving VO2max levels and the team had their annual kickoff in Oslo from Thursday to Sunday last weekend.
While in Oslo, they also participated in Holmenkollstaffetten, a running relay event starting from the famous Bislet and going up to Holmenkollen and back. The team won the open class and had the 14th best time in the overall competition. The CEO of Ragde Eiendom, Edgar Haugen, surprised everyone by taking the lead on his 11 km leg, which is not a small feat as there were 50,000 participants in the relay.
The Aukland brothers’ team will participate in the Guide World Classic Tour, the roller-ski race series, in the summer. Magnar says it the best possible training for the team and they are really looking forward to Lysebotn Opp, a 7.5 km double-poling race on a 10% average climb in conjunction with Skifestivalen Blink in Norway. That race takes place on August 1, and we’ll get to see who truly is the king of the hill and the strongest double poling machine in the circuit.
In addition to the roller-ski tour, the team will also take part in Oslo Triathlon on August 10, and presumably this event is mandatory to all Ragde Eiendom employees and sponsored athletes. It will certainly be interesting to see how the team’s pro skiers manage to swim with their wetsuits on.
In September, Team Ragde Eiendom will have a special training camp in Alta, Norway, where Petter lives. Magnar is thrilled about the camp, but he feels a bit apprehensive about some unwanted guests.
“People from south, myself included, are somewhat afraid of mosquitos, but Andreas and Petter have promised that they won’t bother us. Nevertheless, I will bring some repellent and gear to kill them if needed. Besides killing mosquitos, I’m ready to work hard for the team, and it will be very exciting to see what our new girls can do. They have very good VO2max levels, but we now need to make sure that they become strong double-polers as well.”
