SKI SEASON HAS STARTED

Source www.vismaskiclassics.com

Visma Ski Classics, the long distance ski championship, is about to get started this week 26-27 November with a 10 K prologue race in Pontresina, Switzerland. It is a wonderful platform for the 28 pro teams to show what they are made of. And not just their physical shape but their outlook as well. Many teams are wearing new racing suits with different colors from past seasons and new recruits are enhancing not only the teams but the overall cup, too. The Season VII will be the longest, the most exciting and the greatest of them all. So, now it’s time to join the fun and get a season pass to the action that will leave no one cold.

Visma Ski Classics is not the first World Cup level tour to take off this week as the FIS World Cup will also start its season in Ruka, Finland. Most pro athletes have already tested their current condition, and this past weekend was an action-packed Nordic ski extravaganza in Finland, Sweden and Norway (Russian top skiers raced in Saariselkä, Finland). Many Visma Ski Classics athletes participated in these national World Cup qualifying races and some of them did amazingly well.

Norwegian cross-country skiers faced each other in Beitostølen and the most talked-about fact was Marit Bjørgen’s comeback after her maternal leave. And what a return to form it was – she beat everyone in 10 K skating race and showed that she is ready for Lahti. But the
most interesting race was Men’s 15 K where several Visma Ski Classics heroes performed so well that we can expect the Ponteresina race to be a real fight with tooth and nail amongst these athletes.
Marcialonga winner and the last season’s second best skier Tord Asle Gjerdalen was only 15 seconds behind the winner Didrik Tønseth and took home the second place. This Team Santander skier seems to be in top form and he may be hard to beat in the 10 K prologue this weekend. But he was not the only one showing his true colors last weekend. Team BN Bank’s Morten Eide Pedersen was third in the same race and only nine seconds behind Tord Asle.
The undisputed king of long distance skiing at the moment Petter Eliassen proved that he can be fast in short distances as well and finished in 6th place 45 seconds behind the winner. Then, two-time Vasaloppet winner and the third best skier in Visma Ski Classics last season,
John Kristian Dahl, found himself in 11th place 1:22 minutes behind Didrik. Even Team Santander skier Snorri Einarson, Norwegian who now represents Iceland, finished well by seeing only 14 skiers before him in the final results (1:40 min behind the winner).
Many other Visma Ski Classics skiers participated in that race and here are their results:
Øystein Pettersen 22nd, Andreas Nygaard 23rd, Kjetil Dammen 29th, Vetle Thyli 37th, Anders Høst 47th, Johan Kjølstad 51st, Tore Berdal 59th, Stian Hoelgaard 60th and Christoffer Callesen 85th.

While the Norwegians fought for hegemony on their home turf, the Swedes did the same in Bruksvallarna. Like in Norway, a return of a National hero was the news that stole everyone’s thunder as Johan Olsson came back victorious in 15 K classic race. But a couple of Visma Ski Classics skiers were lurking right behind him; Lager 157 Ski Team members Fredrik Byström and Oscar Persson both managed to
get in the top 10 (Fredrik 5th and Oscar 9th – both less than 90 seconds behind the winner) while their teammate Jimmie Johnson finished 12th.
Here are some other good results from some of the skiers who have signed in for Visma Ski Classics Season VII: Bill Impola 15th, Lucas Bauer 17th, Anton Lindblad 19th, Erik Melin Söderström 35th, Daniel Svensson 38th, Bob Impola 50th, Jerry Ahrlin 60th, Rikard Tynell 61st and Jörgen Brink 144th. It seems that both Lucas Bauer and Jörgen Brink are still a few steps away from the level they are used to, but the season is long and these skiers know how to peak when it’s needed.
The biggest surprise happened in women’s 10 K race as United Bakeries Masako Ishida dominated the field and beat the second
fastest skier Anna Haag by 31 seconds. Team Serneke’s Sara Lindborg was 45 seconds behind her Visma Ski Classics opponent and finished in 5th place. The last season’s winner and perhaps the strongest double-poler in the women’s category, Britta Norgren (Lager 157 Ski Team) placed herself in the 13th spot right before Team Ski Pro Am’s Maria Rydqvist (14th). Annika Löfström, who finished 10th in the
overall Visma Ski Classics results in 2016, was 31st in the race while two-time Vasaloppet winner Laila Kveli (Team Tynell) was 39th.

Finland may not be the most successful nation when it comes to recent long distance skiing results, but a few skiers who have participated in Visma Ski Classics races showed that the land of Sibelius, Sauna and Sisu (gut) should never be counted out. The second event of Suomi Cup (Finland Cup) took place in Rovanimeni and Iivo Niskanen showed that he is a true force to be reckoned with as he won the 16,5 K race 44 seconds before Sami Jauhojärvi.
Both of these skiers have tried their wings in Visma Ski Classics events. Iivo was 4th in Birkebeinerrennet in 2015 and 32nd last year while Sami’s results are far more modest as Årefjällsloppet’s 22nd place in 2014 is his best achievement in the long distance circuit. Ari Luusua, who has been a support skier for Team Santander in the past and now represents Team Mäenpää, was also on the podium as the third fasters skier. Multiple-time Finlandia-hiihto winner and an avid long distance skier Kari Varis was 9th. Team Mäenpää’s Christoffer Lindvall finished in 48th place.
On the women’s side, Xcalibur Lillsport’s Riitta-Liisa Roponen took third place in the sprint race on Saturday and 8th place in the 10K classic race on Sunday (1:20 min behind the winner Krista Pärmäkoski). She has traditionally been stronger in skating, but she can now confidentially step into the classic race arena and do well. It remains to be seen how many Visma Ski Classics races she will be able to do this year as herprimary focus is on Lahti in February.
Iivo’s sister Kerttu Niskanen, who was 5th in Birkebeinerrennet in 2015 and 2nd in Årefjällsloppet in 2014, finished 5th28 seconds behind the winner. Team Robinson Petshop Trainer’s Heli Heiskanen, who will do most of the Visma Ski Classics races this season, finished in the top 20 by being 17th (2:28 min behind Krista). Terhi Pollari, 11th in La Diagonela and 37th in Birkebeinerrennet last season, finished 18 seconds behind Heli by being the 22nd fastest woman in the finish.

So, the new Nordic ski season is officially on and once we let the long distance heroes loose, there is no stopping the action. It will be a great year and as a Finn, I am happy to have the World Championships in my hometown and the Visma Ski Classics final Ylläs-Levi in Lapland. What a year for Finland, and not just for my home country but for the skiing world in general. For now, I urge you to stay tuned for more news and stories behind-the-scenes of Visma Ski Classics. The bang will happen on Sunday and the heat goes on until early April – make sure you don’t miss a beat!