After chasing the World Cup career and “a big breakthrough” in traditional cross-country skiing for eight seasons, Ole Jørgen Bruvoll has become a Pro Team athlete for Team Engcon. 

And last weekend, he opened his Pro Team career by beating the entire Ski Classics athletes in the star-studded prestigious Challengers event Vaajmarathon. After just over 42 kilometers, the Norwegian from Lierne sprinted Max Novak, Team Aker Dæhlie, and won the race by six-tenths of a second.

“It is a nice confirmation that I have done something right in the transition to long-distance skiing and that what I have done in training in the first months of my long-distance career has worked,” he says modestly to Langrenn.com. 

Read More: Pro Team athletes dominate the Challengers Vaajmarathon 2023

The win at Vaajmarathon was also the second time in just over a week that Bruvoll put the long-distance elite in its place. At Blink Classics at the beginning of August, the long-distance freshman finished fourth, just one second behind Petter Northug in third place. 

Langrenn.com chatted with the Pro Team athlete after the solid win on August 12, and the transition to long-distance running has apparently gone smoothly. Ole Jørgen Bruvoll gives credit to the coaching team in the Pro Team. 

“Although there is much that is similar in long-distance skiing and traditional cross-country skiing, there is also much that is very different. But my coach in Team Engcon, Jørgen Ulvang (nephew of Vegard Ulvang), is also a physiotherapist. He has given me some exercises now in the transition. And our other coach, Mathias Reck, is also a coach for the Tour de France team Lidl-Trek. He is incredibly talented, and cycling and long-distance skiing have much in common regarding training and tactics. It gives great security to have such a team at your back when you come from traditional cross-country skiing to long-distance skiing,” he says. 

Team Engcon’s Pro Team Director is Jerry Ahrlin. The Swede, who previously played for the team of the Aukland brothers, has also had Didrik Tønseth as part of the runners. 

Besides Bruvoll, who is therefore ready for his first season as a Pro Team skier, the Team Engcon consists of Johan Tjelle, Amund Hoel, Eddie Edström, and Anton Elvseth, as well as Ida Dahl, Hanna Lodin, and Tove Ericsson on the women’s side. 

Training and cross-country skiing

Training and cross-country skiing are certainly central elements at home. Bruvoll lives with national team skier Marte Skaanes. 

In addition, Marte’s father, Øyvind Skaanes, is a former national team skier, a teacher in the sports department at Heimdal upper secondary school, and a full-time coach at a new project for junior talents in Central Norway. 

Bruvoll believes that this combination is worth its weight in gold. 

“It is clear that training and cross-country skiing often become a topic when both are active. And I also talk a lot about training and skiing with Marte’s father. He is incredibly skilled and has a lot of knowledge,” Bruvoll says. 

But even if both Bruvoll and Skaanes are fully committed, it is still rare for the couple to train together.

“We may train together, but it doesn’t happen often. After all, we have different focuses, and she often goes skating when I go classic,” he says.  

The article continues below.

Why long-distance skiing? And why now?

“I felt that I had perhaps stagnated a bit and was aware that I needed to make a change. I have always liked long distances and think Ski Classics is an exciting concept for long-distance skiing. So, that’s where the motivation lies now. I could probably have continued with traditional cross-country skiing for a couple more years, but then I would have been close to 30 before I switched, and I would rather use those years in Ski Classic and give long-distance skiing a real chance.” 

In addition, Bruvoll experiences that Ski Classics and long-distance skiing as elite-level sports are increasingly catching on.

“It’s a cool concept that Ski Classics has built up around long-distance skiing. I get more comments about what I do now than when I did well in the Norgescup or other races in traditional cross-country skiing. It is motivating,” says Bruvoll.

All in for Ski Classics

The 28-year-old, who has so far excelled most at shorter and medium distances (took silver in the 7.5km in the Youth Olympics and bronze in the 30km skiathlon at the U2 World Championships in 2018) does not rule out that he will start in some races in traditional cross-country skiing this winter as well. But he is going all in for the long distances. 

“The plan is to race all the Ski Classics races this season. There’s not a race that I’ve set my sights on, but Vasaloppet is the highlight, and I’m very excited about Marcialonga,” says Bruvoll enthusiastically. 

In the first long-distance race he started, Birkebeinerrennet, he finished in 85th place. But at Reistadløpet a couple of weeks later, Bruvoll finished in a solid eighth place, ahead of, among others, Pro Team athlete Andreas Nygaard. And that was before he changed his focus and training towards long-distance skiing.  

What are your ambitions for the first season as a full-time Pro Team athlete?  

“It is difficult to set specific goals when I have only raced two long-distance races before. The plan is to do it as well as possible. Whether that means I can stay in the lead and fight for the podium or that I finish three minutes behind, I don’t know yet. I’m excited to see if I can maintain the level of the best or if I have no chance,” he says. 

What is your biggest strength, and can you exploit it as a long-distance skier?  

“My capacity. It allows me to go efficiently on the uphills, hang on with the field over the top, save energy, and speed up and drive a hard pace on downhills without it costing so much. So, I hope to take that with me into my long-distance career.”  

What does your daily training routine look like now: Have you had to change your training in the transition to long-distance skiing?  

“Yes. I still train on average two hard sessions a week, three or four easy sessions, and some strength. But even though there is a lot that is similar, there is a lot that is different from when I started traditional cross-country skiing,” says Bruvoll, and adds: 

“Long-distance skiing is much more one form of movement, and there is much more specific training required in long-distance skiing. That is why, for example, I have dropped almost everything from diagonal striding and skating, I train almost no strength for the legs, and I run much less than I did when I tried traditional. Now it’s almost just roller skiing and then double poling.”

With such significant changes in the training program, Bruvoll has been conscious of running a conservative adaptation with an extra focus on injury prevention. 

“It is clear that it is a big transition when you start double poling 100 kilometers a day on roller skis without having a large specific training base. Then it’s easy to get injuries, especially in the shoulders and elbows,” says Bruvoll. 

“So far, I have managed to avoid injuries and overloads. My coach, who is also a physiotherapist, has given me several exercises I do regularly to improve mobility and build strength. After all, shoulders and neck are particularly exposed body parts.”