Visma Ski Classics Challengers event Totenrullen, 50 km in classic technique, took place yesterday with a strong start field in Raufoss, Norway. Many Visma Ski Classics Pro Team athletes and World Cup athletes matched their skills in a tough race. 73 male and 6 female skiers started into the race at 12:00 noon with quite…

Visma Ski Classics Challengers event Totenrullen, 50 km in classic technique, took place yesterday with a strong start field in Raufoss, Norway. Many Visma Ski Classics Pro Team athletes and World Cup athletes matched their skills in a tough race.

73 male and 6 female skiers started into the race at 12:00 noon with quite heavy rainfalls and wet conditions which continued throughout most of the race.

Due to the diverse course profile, athletes who chose to use diagonal striding technique were able to undertake a few breakaways in some uphills. However, they were caught up by the experienced long-distance skiers using double-poling technique in flat parts of the course.

In the end, it was three men who fought for the victory in a tough final sprint. Visma Ski Classics Pro Team athlete and winner of the Champion Bib competition in Visma Ski Classics Season X Andreas Nygaard, Team Ragde Charge, and Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, Lillehammer Skiklubb, reached the finish line at almost the same time. Andreas Nygaard was determined as the winner of the race leaving Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget on second place. Third and only three seconds behind was Johan Hoel, Åsen Il.

In the women’s category, Silje Øyre Slind, Oppdal Il, dominated the field from the beginning and came first, only seven minutes after the male winner. Magni Smedås, Lillehammer Skiklub / Team Elon Innlandet, and Emilie Fleten, Team XPND, stayed together for some time but in the end Smedås finished second pushing the Visma Ski Classics Pro Team athlete on the third place.

Magni Smedås, Silje Øyre Slind and Emilie Fleten. Photo: Ådne Strandlie.

All participants in Totenrullen 50 km receive points for their SC ranking which they can check by logging in for free to MyPages.

As Totenrullen was a Visma Ski Classics Challengers event, Pro Team registered athletes were able to collect points for the Ski Classics Champion and Youth competitions in respective gender. This means that Andreas Nygaard has now already collected the maximum amount of 50 points at a Challengers event which counts to his overall standing for Visma Ski Classics Season XII. Emilie Fleten has now collected 40 points, but she can still improve her points by competing in another Challengers event this season and ranking second or first.

Results of Totenrullen and a list of all Challengers events with already confirmed dates for the season 2021/22 can be found on https://www.vismaskiclassics.com/results/

Morten Eide Pedersen in front of the peloton. Photo: Ådne Strandlie.

Top Photo. Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, Andres Nygaard and Johan Hoel. Photo: Ådne Strandlie.