Who knows their son better than his own mother? Read the interview with Jana Novak, where she shares insights about Max Novak’s training and journey.

We constantly hear from the television that Max Novak is a Czech-Swede, a Swede with Czech parents and excellent Czech, for whom the Jizerská50 is one of the season’s most important races, along with Vasaloppet.

Max Novak has a connection to the Czech Republic through his parents and relatives, whom he visits once or twice a year. At one point, he even considered representing the Czech Republic in traditional cross-country skiing. However, he abandoned the idea when he decided to focus on long-distance skiing and joined the excellent and promising Norwegian Pro Team Aker Daehlie.

At the Jizerská50, ProXCskiing.com’s sister site Bezky.net met Max’s charming and smiling mother, Jana, who shared some observations about Max:

Do you, as parents, influence Max’s preparation in any way?
“No, we just follow him from afar. We always ask but don’t see much, so we only have a rough idea.”

Does he have a secret recipe for preparing for the season’s major races?
“No, I don’t think so. He always says that it pays off to train hard even between races, so when preparing for the Jizerská, there was no time for rest after Marcialonga. He just keeps training hard.”

“Also, Max is studying industrial economics now, so after races, he had to study as well because it was exam season. But it seems to me that the more he has, the better his performance is. So, I think studying benefits him.”

“He knows that life isn’t only about racing. I think it’s not good when athletes only train.”

Is it true that Max has been trying to lose weight in a controlled manner recently?
“Yes, before Marcialonga and Jizerská, he struggled quite a bit with his diet.”

Can you elaborate on that?
“I only know that he’s trying to lose weight. For example, he had his birthday on the first of February, so we celebrated. I made him a Czech duck, and he had a cake, so Max celebrated nicely. Then I told him to take the rest of the cake home, but he didn’t want to. He said he was going back to hard training. He’s trying to be as light as possible, as he’s quite tall, so he weighs more.”

Isn’t it a bit risky to lose weight during the season? Doesn’t he worry about it?
“So far, it has worked, and I don’t think he’s overdoing it. I hope he never gets into trouble with it.”

Max is living somewhere else, apart from you?
“Yes, we live in a village about 50 kilometers west of Östersund, but Max lives right in Östersund. Actually, he has been living there since he finished high school. There are a lot of skiers living there, so it’s good for him.”

How often do you see each other?
“We usually see each other once or twice a week, but mostly, we have to go to him because he’s very busy.”

Max speaks Czech quite well. Do you speak Czech at home?
“Yes, we kept it that way. We are lucky because my husband is also Czech. It would have been much harder if he were Swedish, but we both decided that we would speak Czech at home, and we always tried to stick to that. I think everyone is happy about it now. When we go to the Jizerská50, he speaks Czech without any problem.”

As a mother, you know him best. How do you improve his mood when things aren’t going well for him?
“We’ve gone through quite a few tears with him. But I’m happy when Max comes to me feeling sad; he usually recovers quite quickly, moves on, and brushes it off. For example, he was very disappointed at the Jizerská two years ago; he had the wrong skis and was really upset about it.”

He had a great result at Marcialonga. What does second place mean to him?
“Yes, he was thrilled and said it was a huge relief because it was one of those races that had never gone well for him. With this result, he felt like he had finally accomplished it.”

Does he feel any pressure from the team to achieve good results?
“No, not at all. In Scandinavia, they have a really good approach in this regard. They never put pressure on the athletes, they leave it up to them. I’ve never experienced anything like that, and I find it very sympathetic.”

Find Max Novak’s complete results here.

Ski Classics Season XVI

The Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XVI consists of 14 events across 10 event weekends in 6 countries. The season started in Austria, on December 13, 2024, with the Pro Teams Presentation, and will end in Norway with the Grand Finale Summit 2 Senja, on March 30, 2025.

Next up is Vasaloppet on Sunday, March 2, 2025. The 90-kilometer classic race marks the tenth Ski Classics Pro Tour stage and Season XVI’s third Grand Classics event.

Vasaloppet – Ski Classics Pro Tour Event 10

• Date: Sunday, March 2, 2025
• Distance: 90km Classic Technique
• Location: From Sälen to Mora, Sweden
• Start Time: 8:00 CET for Women and Men
• SC Sprints: 2
  • Smågan: 11km
  • Evertsberg: 48km 
• SC Climbs: 1
  • Högsta Punkten: 3km
• Total Ascent: 948m
• Last Edition Winners: Emilie Fleten (4:23:06.7) and Torleif Syrstad (3:52:43.7)
• Website: Vasaloppet
• SC Play: Vasaloppet 

More information about Vasaloppet can be found HERE and HERE

Read More: Vasaloppet – March starts with the third Grand Classics of Season XVI

Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XVI (2024/2025)

• Event 0: Friday, December 13, 2024 –Ski Classics Pro Team Presentation XVI – Bad Gastein, Austria
• Event 1: Saturday, December 14, 2024 – Bad Gastein ITT – Sportgastein, Austria, 7km
• Event 2: Sunday, December 15, 2024 – Bad Gastein Criterium – Sportgastein, Austria, 36km
• Event 3: Saturday, January 11, 2025 – 3 Zinnen Ski Marathon – Sexten, Italy, 60km
• Event 4: Sunday, January 12, 2025 – La Venosta ITT Kapron-Melago – Val Venosta, Italy, 11km
• Event 5: Saturday, January 18, 2025 – Engadin La Diagonela – Pontresina-Zuoz, Switzerland, 43km
• Event 6: Sunday, January 26, 2025 – Marcialonga – Trentino, Italy, 70km
• Event 7: Sunday, February 9, 2025 – Jizerská50 – Bedřichov, Czech Republic, 50km
• Event 8: Saturday, February 15, 2025 – Grönklitt Criterium 61 – Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 61km
• Event 9: Sunday, February 16, 2025 – Grönklitt ITT – Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 13km
• Event 10: Sunday, March 2, 2025 – Vasaloppet – Sälen-Mora, Sweden, 90km
• Event 11: Saturday, March 15, 2025 – Birkebeinerrennet – Rena-Lillehammer, Norway, 54km
• Event 12: Saturday, March 22, 2025 – Marcialonga Bodø – Bodø, Norway, 50km
• Event 13: Saturday, March 29, 2025 – Reistadløpet – Setermoen-Bardufoss, Norway, 46km
• Event 14: Sunday, March 30, 2025 – Grand Finale Summit 2 Senja – Bardufoss-Finnsnes, Norway, 60km

More information about the Ski Classics Pro Tour can be found at skiclassics.com