Team Robinson Trentino will add Russian power to its Pro Team for Visma Ski Classics events in January. Ekaterina Smirnova and Tatiana Sorina will be competing in long-distance races.

Still, due to Pro Team rules, only Smirnova will be part of the Italian Pro Team.

On the same day that the Russian Ski Federation revealed the names for the Winter Olympic Games, Bruno Debertolis announced to ProXCskiing that two Russian cross-country skiers would join his team for January. Tatiana Sorina, who has just been chosen to the Russian Olympic Team, and Ekaterina Smirnova will be competing at long-distance events with Team Robinson Trentino.

From a mountain rescue center in Trentino, Pro Team Director Bruno Debertolis had a chat with ProXCskiing to tell the news. 

“Egor Sorin has been a good friend of mine since we raced in the first year of Ski Classics,” he says. 

“After his skiing career, he started working as a coach and now is the coach for one of the Russian women’s teams. I received a call from him suggesting this partnership because now it is a good time to develop their long-distance skiing capabilities,” continues Debertolis.

Bruno Debertolis feels happy about this development. He believes that this is excellent news for long-distance skiing and an ideal partnership for his team. 

“Russia has so many strong athletes, and they can’t all be part of the Russian National Team. Maybe they can have a chance to compete and show their strengths in the Visma Ski Classics circuit”, Debertolis continues.

With the 2022 Olympics starting soon, this will be a good time to test the Russian athlete’s shape. Ekaterina Smirnova will compete in every Visma Ski Classics event during January as a member of Team Robinson Trentino. But Tatiana Sorina may not have the chance to compete with the Italian team due to the maximum number of athletes that each Pro Team can register.

Debertolis believes more Visma Ski Classics Pro Teams athletes would benefit the circuit

According to Visma Ski Classics Rules and Regulations, each Pro Team can register a maximum of ten athletes and a minimum of four. This is why Tatiana will not be allowed to start as a Pro Team athlete.

Bruno Debertolis believes it would benefit the Visma Ski Classics circuit to have more registered athletes for each team.

“We should follow the same direction as Pro Cycling, with teams formed by around 20 athletes. Even if not all the athletes were allowed to enter every race, it would be good to have the opportunity to register more athletes for specific races”, explains Bruno.

He believes that this should be the future of the Visma Ski Classics Pro Tour to attract more elite skiers from the World Cup with specific characteristics for specific races and allow younger athletes to compete in the main events with the “big guns.”

“We have many young skiers in the talent program, and it would be good for them to participate in some races with the Pro Tour skiers. Also, imagine if we could sign an elite skier from the World Cup. If Klaebo could race for a specific race, imagine how good it would be for long-distance skiing marketing. But with only ten athletes per team, it can be a limiting factor”, concludes Bruno.

Skinstad also believes that increasing the number of athletes in each team would be good

Team Coop’s Director Petter Soleng Skinstad agrees with Bruno Debertolis about this topic. The number of athletes allowed for each team is low, so it can negatively affect smaller teams and younger athletes.

“I agree with Bruno that each team should be allowed to sign more than 10 athletes. But I also believe that a maximum of around 15 athletes would be the optimal solution, with 8 athletes per gender. Most of all, having bigger teams will give the possibility of having young recruits in the team, in addition to famous skiers from the World Cup and Biathlon to join the team for specific races”, says Skinstad.

Both Pro Team Directors believe that it would benefit the Visma Ski Classics Pro Tour. This way, the competition could attract more traditional cross-country skiing names and young talents, increasing the chances for international promotion.

Next up in the Visma Ski Classics is La Venosta Time Trial. The 10-kilometer classic race takes place in Italy, on January 15, 2022.

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