Sweden’s Pro Team has secured Norwegian super talent for the upcoming Ski Classics season.

The Norwegian former professional soccer player is one of the two stars signings for the successful Swedish Pro Team. The other is French Pro Team athlete Thomas Joly.

Drammen skier Julie Kvale Støstad and the French youngster have joined the Swedish Pro Team, Team Ramudden, after a season with the Norwegian Pro Team, Team Næringsbanken Stora Enso.

Directly from the soccer fields to the top 10 in Ski Classics

The 25-year-old went directly from almost ten years as an elite professional soccer player to the top 10 overall in Ski Classics and third place in the battle for the Youth bib in her first winter of long-distance skiing.

This made several Pro Team Directors raise their eyebrows, and now Julie Kvale Støstad is heading into her first season with the successful Team Ramudden. Her teammates include long-distance star Emilie Fleten and Ski Classics Legend Lina Korsgren as a coach, mentor, and Pro Team Director.

Langrenn.com spoke to the new signing just before she left for her first meeting with the “yellow monsters” about her expectations of the team and the program, the past season, and the season ahead. 

“At Næringsbanken, we mostly trained alone, so everything is new. I hope to learn as much as possible because I feel like I have an awful lot to learn,” says Støstad, explaining eagerly:

“I’ve never done any technique training. I’ve never done any physical tests, such as lactate and oxygen uptake on roller skis, so I’m excited to see where I stand. And I don’t know anything about my strengths and weaknesses.”

But first things first: How did you decide to give up soccer in favor of long-distance skiing?

“I’ve always enjoyed endurance training, long runs, and skiing in the winter. But there was no time for that besides the training I had to do while playing soccer. So, when I gave up soccer, I wanted to do more of what I really loved,” says Støstad.

With her soccer career on the shelf, a passion for endurance, a partner who focuses on cross-country skiing at the highest level, and living in Lillehammer, it was natural to try skiing.

Last summer, Støstad started to do some roller skiing. Over the summer, she participated in Kanalrennet, Lysebotn Opp, Blink Classics, and Toppidrettsveka.

When Støstad noticed that she was doing quite well, she called the Lillehammer-based Ski Classics Pro Team, Team Næringsbanken Stora Enso, to see if they could have a female skier for the winter.

“The worst thing that could happen was that they said no,” she says.

Støstad was accepted into the recruitment team for YC Rør Sjusjøen Ski Team.

A few weeks later, after finishing 11th at Alliansloppet, Støstad went straight into the elite team. And she’s been there ever since.

Also Read: Soccer player joins Team Næringsbanken Stora Enso

Debut Season

Støstad had set herself the occasional top-20 finish as an ambitious goal for her first long-distance skiing season. She shattered that goal even before Christmas.

After finishing 17th in her debut at the Ski Classics opening in Bad Gastein in December, Støstad has, with few exceptions, remained stable between seventh and 11th place all season. The result was third place overall in the battle for the Youth bib and ninth place in Ski Classics overall.

“It went much better than I ever thought it would. I would never have dared to dream of being among the top 10 overall in my first season,” says Støstad modestly.

At the same time, she is quick to point out that the learning curve has been steep.

“The first thing I learned was that it’s extremely fast in the beginning, but that you just have to fight and hang on because it usually calms down after a while,” says Støstad, and continues:

“The other thing is that finding a group that works well together is extremely important. We quickly became a ‘permanent’ group of four to six skiers who went together to every race this winter. It was incredibly fun. And then it’s about just hanging on for as long as you can, because if you let go, you have to go it alone.”

How far do you feel it is to the podium now?

“It’s a long way. Those at the top are extremely good.”

But the fact of the matter is that Støstad’s results this year resemble last year’s season of Kati Roivas, the Finnish star who finished second overall in last winter’s Ski Classics.

Roivas also skied for Team Næringsbanken Stora Enso in the 2022/2023 season and was consistently between sixth and 15th place. This year, she was on the podium in seven of the 13 Ski Classics individual races she started, including Marcialonga, Vasaloppet, and Birkebeinerrennet. 

What do you think about your season this year compared to Kati Roiva’s last season and the extraordinary success she’s had this year?

“I’ve thought a lot about it, that she had very similar results last year to what I’ve had this year, and that when she switched teams, she took the next step,” says Støstad.

And that’s precisely where Støstad is now: She has been headhunted to Team Ramudden, the team of Emilie Fleten who dominated the Ski Classics last winter, winning the long-distance series overall and all the available bibs to her by a solid margin.

This happened after Marcialonga last weekend in January.

“Since it went so well, I had hoped to get some offer. I wasn’t prepared for it to be from the dream team and so early in the winter. But it was extremely cool and let me lower my shoulders slightly.”

Julie Kvale Støstad has now started her first session with the new Pro Team. She doesn’t see a return to soccer any time soon.

Have you tried soccer again since you switched to long-distance skiing?

“Yes, I played a few games in the second division. But I don’t dare do much more of it. And I’d forgotten how painful and uncomfortable it is to run in football shoes. My toes really hurt.”

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