Klas Nilsson, the best Swede in Vasaloppet 2020, signed with a new Pro Team. Here he talks about his choice, “everyday training,” and the goal of succeeding between Sälen and Mora.

The 36-year-old Klas Nilsson had a difficult season last year. During summer, he had problems with two broken ribs, and during winter had a couple of colds, followed by Covid.

Despite not having the best preparations, he finished Tartu Marathon in sixth place, which was his best result.

After the winter, it became clear that Team Curira had decided to close. But now, Nilsson has signed with a new Pro Team.

The choice was the Norwegian Team XPND Fuel, together with, among other Pro Tour athletes, Tord Asle Gjerdalen:

“It feels great. Tord is a good person and a real legend in this area. I look forward to competing together in the same team. I’m in Norway now and have been staying at Tord’s house, so we’ve been training together. We have a similar everyday life with children, so for him, just like for me, it’s about optimizing the training to get everything done both in terms of skiing and for the family,” says Nilsson, who has three children aged three, six and eight.

So far, how was the summer training for you?

“I am satisfied. I have achieved a large amount (of training) during June and July. There has been less training during August, but it is according to plan. It’s hard to get in the training during the holidays. But now “every day” starts with school and then it’s possible to train like a job again. And now I have planned to bring in even harder sessions, not just quantity.”

Klas Nilsson trains according to a training schedule with five days of training (Monday-Friday) and then training-free weekends:

“It’s a plan I’ve run for several years. It’s nice to be free when the family is free. It’s a setup that reminds me of how Nils van der Poel trained with five days of training and two days of rest. But I’ve already trained like that before. Then you try to learn from others to develop,” says Nilsson.

Will you be competing already during the rollerski season?

“I have thoughts about competing at Klarälvsloppet. I did that last year, and it was fun, but I have a long way to go to the competitions (I live in Skellefteå), so I’ll likely be at home and train and recharge for the winter. The plan is to start the entire Ski Classics, and the hope is to be in the most important races; Marcialonga and Vasaloppet. Then it isn’t easy to know how far I can go there. It depends on how the others ski. Although I had a bad season last year, the trend I have seen over the last three years has been improving. I feel that I am still developing,” concludes Klas Nilsson.