Last Saturday at Pustertaler Ski Marathon, Team Ragde Charge’s Pro Tour athlete Anikken Gjerde Alnæs conquered her first podium at the Ski Classics circuit, finishing in the 2nd place, just behind Ida Dahl, Team Engcon. At the finish line, Anikken was excited about what she had just achieved. 

“I am so excited to be on the podium. This is what we have been working for,” said Anikken after the race in an interview with SC Play. 

The performance shows the Norwegian skier is in a good phase of her skiing career. However, she confesses that she thought of quitting after the end of last season. Fortunately, this result has been the proof she needed that hard work pays off.

“I almost quit last season because I was so tired. But it is nice to see that hard work pays off, and I am up there,” says Anikken during the interview.

Read More: Pustertaler Ski Marathon & Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge Pre-Event Interviews 

After the end of last season, Anikken struggled with motivation for a new season, but some factors made her decide to go for another winter of races.

“I asked the Team some time to think about moving on with another season because I had a tough time motivating myself for another year of races. I wanted to have a solid plan about how to improve. I got the time I needed to find the motivation and continue the journey together with Team Ragde Charge.”

Another motivating factor was the signing of Jenny Larsson with Team Ragde Charge. Anikken admires her racing style, so training with Jenny brought the motivation she was looking for.

“I admire her (Jenny Larsson) offensive racing style, and I believe in her as a strong long-distance skier. Now we are two girls at the training camps, pushing each other to another level and having a lot of fun.”

Anikken’s Body Is Getting Adapted To The Longer Distances

Due to illness this season, Anikken struggled with some cramps. But during Pustertaler Ski Marathon, she felt stronger and stronger and managed to keep her second place through most of the race, staying only behind the winner Ida Dahl.

“I was super excited just to feel good and always stronger. I think I could even go longer. I just need to fix the cramps,” says Anikken with a smile. 

“I have been better at around 40-kilometers races, so I was unsure how it would suit me. But I have felt better during the long-distance training sessions. Since I changed the path to long-distance, I have planned for how to adapt to the longer races, and I have been consistent with my plan making small changes year by year to improve. The difference this training season was how my body has responded to training and that I recovered better from each training session.”

Anikken Is Feeling Motivated For The Green Bib

This good performance comes just before the calendar’s biggest and most important races begin. With Engadin La Diagonela next weekend, and Marcialonga at the end of January, Anikken feels her shape reaching the levels she was looking to.

One of her goals for the season was to conquer a podium, which she did at Pustertaler Ski Marathon. Now, Anikken feels even more confident to fight for the primary goal, the Green bib.

“As I have reached one of my goals for the season, I am continuing to fight for points in the Green bib competition. I aim to make the upcoming races interesting as we head towards the most important and big races,” concludes Anikken Gjerde Alnæs.

The upcoming Ski Classics Pro Tour event is Engadin La Diagonela, a 55km classic technique event in Switzerland on January 21.

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, 40km 
• 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, 55km 
• Event 7: January 29, 2023 – Marcialonga, Trentino, Italy, 70km
• Event 8: February 12, 2023 – Jizerská50, Bedrichov, Czech Republic, 50km
• Event 9: February 18, 2023 – Grönklitt Criterium, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 50km
• Event 10: February 19, 2023 – Grönklitt ITT, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 15km
• 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, 67km

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

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