He has competed in sprints at both the World Championships and the Olympics. Earlier this year, Anton Persson switched from traditional distances to long-distance races, joining Team Ramudden’s Ski Classics Pro Team lineup. In this article, he talks about his decision to pursue long-distance races, his training, and what he aims for in the coming winter.

Team Ramudden’s squad for the upcoming Ski Classics Season XVI was announced a month ago. One of the biggest surprises was the signing of former Swedish national team sprinter Anton Persson:

“I’ve been thinking a lot during the spring, and when Team Ramudden reached out at the end of April, it quickly felt like this was what I wanted to focus on. And that feeling only grew stronger after attending the first camp with the team. At the same time, I realized that I have work to do leading up to the winter, says Persson to Langd.se with a smile.

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Persson made his World Cup debut in 2016 and competed in sprints at the World Championships and the Olympics in 2021 and 2022, advancing to the quarterfinals both times. However, a knee injury has disrupted his past few seasons. He underwent surgery twice before the past season and struggled to make a comeback.

“I’ve felt that I’ve lost quite a bit of strength in my legs. I’ve been wondering if, at my age (29), it’s possible to regain the explosiveness I had before the knee injury and develop it further. That’s what’s needed to reach the world elite. I could probably maintain a high national level in the 10 and 15-kilometer races, but if I want to reach the world elite, it must be in sprints and long-distance races. Now I want to test ‘long-distance.’”

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How is your knee?

“It’s getting better and better. I can run and have done 30km runs, but it’s still a bit uneven, and I must accept that I won’t regain 100% mobility. I’ll be slightly stiffer in my movements and need to adjust my skiing technique slightly. But the injury is healed,” says Persson, who competed in a couple of long-distance races last winter; he won Lospåret in Hällefors and finished seventh at Engelbrektsloppet.

What areas must you develop to step toward long-distance races and Ski Classics?

“The biggest part is double-poling uphill; handling that muscularly is one of the challenges. But also improving in all other aspects; I need to get faster and more technical in double-poling. Then, it’s also about maintaining the strengths I’ve gained from traditional skiing and using them as weapons. It’s about positioning in the group, maintaining speed, and the explosive elements,” says Persson.

What aspects are you focusing on in your training?

“At this stage, it’s about prioritizing pure endurance training. I’m not yet good enough at ‘just’ double-poling to develop my maximum oxygen uptake. Therefore, in this transition phase, I need to train comprehensively and include a lot of running, especially interval running, alongside double-poling,” says Persson, who, like many other Swedish skiers, has Vasaloppet as a major goal:

“Even before Team Ramudden reached out, I had thought about doing a really good Vasaloppet at some point in my career. And to do that, you must compete in Ski Classics. I realized in 2021 that ‘panic’ training for ten days before Vasaloppet isn’t optimal. I did Vasaloppet right after the World Championships in Oberstdorf, and the plan was to go for sprint prizes. I won the sprint prize in Smågan and stayed with the group until Oxberg. Then the last 30km were very tough after hitting the wall. But that race still gave me a taste for more.”

Have you already set goals for your first season in Ski Classics?

“The main goal will be to aim for the Green Sprint bib, but I know it will be a challenge at first since I will start far back in the field. So, it will be a tough journey to get to the front. But as I said, the plan is to go for the sprints, and then I believe and hope this will allow me to join breakaways,” says Persson, who is at his second training camp with his teammates in Team Ramudden this week.

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