For several Ski Classics Pro Tour athletes, Vasaloppet is a major goal for the season. In recent weeks, the long-distance skiers have well prepared for what awaits them in Sweden.

Only a few days are left before one of the year’s great highlights in the Ski Classics Pro Tour, the traditional Swedish 90km long-distance race Vasaloppet.

On Sunday, March 5, it’s time for the eleventh stage of Ski Classics Season XIV. The 2023 edition will mark the third Grand Classics event and the 99th edition of the race between Sälen and Mora in Sweden.

Vasaloppet means a lot to the Pro Tour athletes, and winning the race is the year’s biggest goal for many. The athletes in the Pro Tour have had just under two weeks to prepare for the Vasaloppet after events 9 and 10 in Orsa Grönklitt. Now, you can get more details on how some Pro Tour skiers prepare for the 2023 edition of Vasaloppet.

Big Goal For The Season 

“I don’t believe in doing anything crazy, but I will put in a lot of training after Jizerská,” said Andreas Nygaard, Vasaloppet winner from last year, in the pre-event interview ahead of Jizerská50.

The Team Ragde Charge athlete outclassed all the competitors in the race last year and won the 100th anniversary of Vasaloppet. On the other hand, Nygaard has had some trouble with illness this year throughout the run-up to, and in parts of, the season. The situation has led to the 32-year-old having to make some choices ahead of Vasaloppet.

Nygaard, therefore, chose not to start both races in Orsa Grönklitt to focus on training for Vasaloppet entirely. Numbers from the training app Strava show that Nygaard also completed a solid dose of training last week. Just over 28 hours were spent skiing.

“When I’m not fighting for the overall lead, it’s better to focus on Vasaloppet. If I had been healthy and could do what I wanted in training, I would have competed in Orsa,” Nygaard said.

On the other hand, Nygaard was seen last weekend in a local race. During the Hafjell Ski Marathon, he crushed the competitors in the elite class by over two minutes. The race was also a solid training session for Nygaard, who, with the warm-up, competition, and cool-down, ended up skiing 84.5 kilometers that day.

The Big Favorite

The other big favorite to win in the men’s class is this year’s phenomenon, Emil Persson, Lager 157 Ski Team.

As the leader of the Yellow Champion bib competition, Persson competed in both events at Orsa Grönklitt and showed great form, taking a double win that weekend.

“Now I’m going home and recovering after two hard races. Then I’m going back to Orsa to train on the tracks for Vasaloppet,” Persson said after Grönklitt.

Nevertheless, he believes the hard work is already done for the year’s big highlight.

“The big change I make to the training leading up to the Vasaloppet is to extend certain sessions by one extra hour. It is necessary to prepare to have one extra gear to ski on in the last hour. At the same time, it is about not making too big changes. What I have done so far has been good,” Persson said in an interview with Langd.se earlier this month.

Train, Eat, and Sleep

Apart from Emil Persson, Kasper Stadaas is the only skier to win an individual Pro Tour event this season. The Team Ragde Charge athlete has previously stated that Vasaloppet is the big goal for the season. Therefore, the plan for the first weekend in March has been set.

“I will stay in my girlfriend’s cabin in Lillomarka in Oslo. I will train, eat, sleep, and only focus on that. I will train four to five hours a day for ten to fourteen days leading up to Vasaloppet to be fully prepared for it,” says Stadaas and continues:

“I will get in some long sessions. Intervals are less of a focus now. I will be out and enjoying skiing in Nordmarka.”

Strong Names in Tjejvasan

Last weekend, the 30-kilometer-long Tjejvasan was on the calendar, and some of the best women in the Pro Tour lined up to measure their form in the last part of Vasaloppet, from Oxberg to Mora.

At the end of the race, it was unsurprising that Ida Dahl, Team Engcon; Magni Smedås, Team Eksjöhus; and Emilie Fleten, Team Ramudden, battled for victory.

By just a few centimeters, Ida Dahl outsprinted Magni Smedås in Mora for the win.

Read More: Ida Dahl Wins Tjejvasan 2023 In A Tight Sprint

It will be an exciting race on the women’s side next weekend. The winner? Just time will tell.

Magni Smedås is the only athlete who has a chance to make a Grand Slam, winning all four Grand Classics of the season. The Team Eksjöhus athlete has won both Marcialonga and Jizerská; if she wins Vasaloppet and Birkebeinerrennet, she will be the first to accomplish the incredible feat.

“I try not to think about it too much. I am taking steps in the right direction as a long-distance skier. You need to be in top form to win the last two races. I think there is a reason why no one has managed it before,” says Smedås.

The Outsider

On the other hand, all eyes will be on Astrid Øyre Slind this weekend.

After the sensational bronze medal at the skiathlon in the World Championships in Planica, the Team Aker Dæhlie athlete showed that she is in great shape and is serious about racing the 30km race on Saturday in Planica and Vasaloppet on Sunday. Nevertheless, the 35-year-old admits that it will be tough.

“Suddenly, it becomes a small tour, with Vasaloppet at the end. It will be something other than just skiing 30km and Vasaloppet,” Øyre Slind told Langrenn.com in Planica.

Whether there will be more distance races than the skiathlon and 30km in the World Championships for Øyre Slind is still uncertain, but after the medal, it became clear that a private airplane from Slovenia to Sweden is waiting for her.

Also Read: Private Airplane For The World Championships Medalist And Pro Tour Start 

The Season XIV of Ski Classics Pro Tour consists of 14 events on 10 event weekends in 6 different countries. 

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, 36km 
• 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, 48km 
• Event 7: January 29, 2023 – Marcialonga, Trentino, Italy, 70km
• Event 8: February 12, 2023 – Jizerská50, Bedřichov, Czech Republic, 50km
• Event 9: February 18, 2023 – Grönklitt Criterium, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 50km
• Event 10: February 19, 2023 – Grönklitt ITT, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 12km
• 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.