Christmas time is here, and today, ProXCskiing.com had a chat with Pro Team athlete Gabriel Strid from Exsitec Ski Team.

In a casual talk, ProXCskiing.com talked to Gabriel Strid, Exsitec Ski Team, about his season preparations, the first events in the Ski Classics Season XV, and, of course, whether to have a workout or not on Christmas Day. 

Strid has been around the Pro Tour circuit for three seasons and is in his second year with Exsitec Ski Team. After a challenging start to the season, he had his Pro Tour personal best at La Venosta ITT last weekend with a 14th place. 

Read More: Dahl and Paus take top honors at La Venosta ITT Season XV

“I had a tough start to this season. The first weekend in Bad Gastein, we managed to pick the wrong skis, and I couldn’t be self-righteous enough to compete the way I knew I could. In La Venosta, I crashed at the beginning of the race and was way behind from the start. Injured my leg but managed to finish the race,” Gabriel Strid says about the first two Ski Classics weekends, Season XV. 

But at La Venosta ITT, it was a game changer:

“The next day, I was unsure to start (La Venosta ITT). I had and still have a hard time walking normally. It hurts when I am bending my leg. But I still wanted to give it a chance, and I decided to give it a chance during the warm-up. Personal best big time with the 14th place, and I do not regret my decision to start that day,” says the Swedish Pro Team athlete and adds:

“Great feeling to leave Italy with at least one good result and knowing that I can do great results further into the season if everything goes as planned.”

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La Venosta ITT being a shorter race and with individual starts, Strid shared his thoughts about different race formats:

“I like the mix of different races. I think that I’m a quite all-round skier. I would like to see Ski Classics add one extra ‘sprint’ competition every weekend. Like the one before Jizerská50 and make it a part of the Sprint bib.”

And how was your preparation for the Winter season? Did everything go according to plan?

“Perfect preparation before the season with a Team camp in Spain and a couple of weeks on snow in Bruksvallarna.”

And now Christmas time has arrived. Strid has already planned his Christmas Day. 

“I plan to make the perfect mix of relaxing with family and hard training. I will do a standard session of 4-6 hours of double poling.” 

And as it could not be missing, Christmas is a time for reflection. Gabriel Strid reveals what he expects for the future.

“I would like to get a regulated economic system from Ski Classics with a criterion of a minimum amount of money to contracted skiers in the teams based on SC Ranking.” 

Also Read – Focused on details: “Never been so eager”

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Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XV

The Season XV of Ski Classics Pro Tour consists of 15 events on 11 event weekends in 6 different countries. The season started in Bad Gastein, Austria, on December 9, 2023, and will end in Norway with the 100km Ski Classics Grand Finale Janteloppet on April 13, 2024.

Next up is the 3 Zinnen Ski Marathon in Italy on January 13, 2024. The event marks the fifth Ski Classics Pro Tour stage of Season XV.

Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XV (2023/2024)

• Event 1: December 9, 2023 – Bad Gastein PTT, Austria, 13km
• Event 2: December 10, 2023 – Bad Gastein Criterium, Austria, 36km
• Event 3: December 16, 2023 – La Venosta Criterium, Italy, 37km 
• Event 4: December 17, 2023 – La Venosta ITT, Italy, 10km
• Event 5: January 13, 2024 – 3 Zinnen Ski Marathon, Italy, 62km
• Event 6: January 20, 2024 – Engadin La Diagonela, Switzerland, 56km
• Event 7: January 28, 2024 – Marcialonga, Italy, 70km
• Event 8: February 11, 2024 – Jizerská50, Czech Republic, 50km
• Event 9: February 17, 2024 – Grönklitt Classic, Sweden, 60km
• Event 10: February 18, 2024 – Grönklitt ITT, Sweden, 13km
• Event 11: March 3, 2024 – Vasaloppet, Sweden, 90km
• Event 12: March 16, 2024 – Birkebeinerrennet, Norway, 54km
• Event 13: April 6, 2024 – Reistadløpet, Norway, 50km
• Event 14: April 7, 2024 – Summit 2 Senja, Norway, 60km
• Event 15: April 13, 2024 – Ski Classics Grand Finale – Janteloppet, Norway, 100km

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