With only two Pro Tour events left of Ski Classics Season XIV, already on Saturday, Buskqvist has the chance to secure the Green Sprint bib overall.

How was your first entire season in Ski Classics?

“It has been a fun season. I was really looking forward to having a good season with Team Ramudden and racing all the cool races in Ski Classics this year,” says Alfred during Wednesday’s pre-events interviews.

Buskqvist leads the Sprint competition by 38 points ahead of Vebjørn Moen, Team Aker Dæhlie, and needs just another 23 points to secure victory in the battle for the Green bib. The Sprint checkpoint at Reistadløpet is after five kilometers, and at Summit 2 Senja after eleven kilometers.

Do you have any tactics for the weekend?

“I will just try to do as usual. It would be nice to get enough points already at Reistadløpet, so I can be more relaxed when I get to the start of Sunday’s race.

As a sprinter, and with the sprint being so early in the race, have you decided whether you’re double poling or using kick wax on Saturday?

“Already last year, I skied with kick wax. Reistadløpet is one of the races I did, even before this season. But I will double poles since the sprint is already after five kilometers. The track is initially quite flat, so it should go well. Otherwise, I think it is an advantage to go with kick wax. I’ve done a couple of races this year striding; it would have been fun to do it on Saturday – but for the sprint, it’s probably to my advantage to double pole,” says Alfred.

What does it mean to you to win the Sprint Competition?

“It would be a lot of fun and was a bit of a dream goal when I started in Ski Classics. Something I believed in but did not know how difficult it would be to implement. It has also been important to retain the green bib early in the season because you start quite far back in the field as a debutant. Now I have instead started at the front in almost every competition. Keeping the bib all season would have been cool.”

Alfred is keeping his fingers crossed that the form for the weekend will be good. A week or so ago, his body felt much worse, but after racing at Flyktningerennet last weekend and training well since then, he goes into this crucial weekend with a different sense of security. The most important thing for Alfred seems to be that the body feels as it should because he has not yet set up any real tactics.

“We in the team always talk about tactics the day before when we are all together. So, we’ll see; hopefully, I can get some help if needed. At the same time, we have been the same group that has been fighting for the sprint points all season, so I guess it will look the same this weekend.”

What has been the highlight so far in your debut season?

“Just being able to travel around with the team and be part of a team that had done good competitions, like when Emilie (Fleten) won Vasaloppet. It was big. Then it was also big for me personally when I took the first sprint prize of the season at La Venosta.”

If we turn the question around: what has been most challenging so far?

“I started far behind the first races and didn’t know how to set up the tactics. So, it’s something that has improved during the season,” he explains.

Alfred’s goals for next season have not been set yet. The most important thing is to secure the Sprint competitions this weekend.

“I don’t know yet if I will change my strategy for next season. First of all, I will try to defend and secure the Sprint competition this season. So, we’ll see how I feel after that. It may also depend a bit on how the team looks like next season, and which role will be best for the team.”

Watch Here: Reistadløpet & Summit 2 Senja: Pre-Events Interviews

Next up is Reistadløpet on April 1 and Summit 2 Senja on April 2. The events mark the 13th and 14th Ski Classics stages and the final weekend of Season XIV.

The Season XIV of Ski Classics Pro Tour consists of 14 events on 10 event weekends in 6 different countries. 

Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XIV (2022/2023)

• Event 1: December 10, 2022 – Bad Gastein PTT, Bad Gastein, Austria, 15km
• Event 2: December 11, 2022 – Bad Gastein Criterium, Bad Gastein, Austria, 35km
• Event 3: December 17, 2022 – La Venosta Criterium, Val Venosta, Italy, 36km 
• Event 4: January 14, 2023 – Pustertaler Ski Marathon, Sexten, Italy, 62km
• Event 5: January 15, 2023 – Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge, Niederdorf, Italy, 32km
• Event 6: January 21, 2023 – Engadin La Diagonela, Engadin Valley, Switzerland, 48km 
• Event 7: January 29, 2023 – Marcialonga, Trentino, Italy, 70km
• Event 8: February 12, 2023 – Jizerská50, Bedřichov, Czech Republic, 50km
• Event 9: February 18, 2023 – Grönklitt Criterium, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 50km
• Event 10: February 19, 2023 – Grönklitt ITT, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 12km
• Event 11: March 5, 2023 – Vasaloppet, Sälen-Mora, Sweden, 90km
• Event 12: March 18, 2023 – Birkebeinerrennet, Rena-Lillehammer, Norway, 54km
• Event 13: April 1, 2023 – Reistadløpet, Setermoen-Bardufoss, Norway, 40km
• Event 14: April 2, 2023 – Summit 2 Senja, Bardufoss- Finnsnes, Norway, 68km

More information about the Ski Classics Pro Tour you can find at skiclassics.com.