José Cabeça, a Portuguese cross-country skier and triathlete that is aiming for the Winter Olympics, spends his time between a hot region in Portugal, called Évora, and Dubai. Used to train in hard conditions due to the scorching sun, this Portuguese skier fell in love with cross-country skiing back in 2018, when he used to watch the FIS World Cup races from home.

After feeling attracted by the performance and fitness of the world’s strongest cross-country skiers, José Cabeça realized that there was never anyone from Portugal performing at the top level. So, the Portuguese skier has been fighting to become the first Portuguese elite cross-country skier.

“Portugal Winter Sports Team is far from the level of the regular Olympic Team. So, I decided that I would learn cross-country skiing and represent my country at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics”, José Cabeça says to Pro XC Skiing.

Despite being new to Nordic skiing, José Cabeça has been experiencing great moments while training and competing to reach his ambitions. And from December on, he will be training with a new coach, the Rollerski World Champion Ragnar Bragvin Andresen, to find his best shape until February. However, it is not always easy to find the right balance between training for cross-country skiing and for triathlon.

“My training program is a bit complex because I am also a triathlete and I have to find time to run, bike and swim. But due to the place where I am living (Dubai), I spend most of my time training on rollerskis. The temperatures are usually very hot, but I am used to it. And since nobody knows this sport in Dubai, I try to train when there is no traffic. It is safer for me”, says José Cabeça.

José Cabeça Sets High Goals For Winter Olympics

José Cabeça has been traveling all over Europe to achieve the goal of representing Portugal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. From rollerskiing in Serbia, Greece, and Spain, to cross-country skiing competitions in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, this Portuguese skier believes he can reach the top.

“My goal is to perform well and represent Portugal at the next Winter Olympic Games. But in 2026, I want to be among the world’s best cross-country skiers”.