Team Engcon Pro Team Director Jerry Ahrlin has recruited several strong names, such as Ida Dahl, for next season. Here, Ahrlin talks about the upcoming rollerski competitions and how they planned to strengthen the team for the coming season.

Jerry Ahrlin had a long and successful career as a long-distance skier. He is the Pro Team Director of Team Engcon, who has made several exciting signings for next season.

The last of these, presented just a few days ago, is Linn Sömskar, who will compete in Team Engcon’s colors this winter. Here’s what Jerry had to say about the signing:

“Linn has a lot of experience, has been around for a long time, and has good endurance. She is a good signing who I hope will be able to contribute to the team in many ways. Linn is a good person who fits well into our team.”

Is it important to bring in experienced skiers who fit well with the group when you have a slightly newly composed team?

“It is always important that there is harmony between people on the team so everyone can get along well with everyone, and Linn is one of them. It is great that she will join and contribute to our team this year.”

In August, several rollerski competitions await Linn Sömskar and the other Team Engcon skiers.

“I think it’s fun that it’s growing. It isn’t easy to find something that is more like skiing than rollerskiing, so of course, it is interesting to get some answers on how the training goes, but we use these races more to build on the routine and find out what we can do better. There is more focus on getting good training and good experiences together. It’s a good break in the training season to have competitions and to meet the others,” says Jerry Ahrlin.

What are the differences between the competitions on rollerskis and snow?

“Rollerskis are well suited for a type of skier who is stronger and gets a lot of watts out of each poling. You don’t always get the same list of results at a rollerski competition as you do at a competition in winter. It is perhaps even more difficult to break away from others on rollerskis. It often becomes a bit more like cycling in that there are often large groups and mass sprints.”

One of the first competitions for Team Engcon’s athletes will be the Blinkfestivalen, which starts today with the climbing race Lysebotn Opp.

“To succeed there, you need a good day. In this part of the season, when many trains under heavy load, it can vary daily. One day you can be powerful; the next, it can be a complete lack of form. You need a good day to climb such a steep and hard hill. There won’t be many tactics, but it will be more like an individual start. You don’t have as much advantage from being behind as you do on a flat race.”

“The long-distance race in the Blinkfestivalen will be more like a traditional rollerski race, and you have to stay ahead of the field in case something happens. If you end up behind and alone in a rollerski competition, it’s almost impossible to get back.”

“We always try to help each other as best we can, but whoever has the day can go all in and go for the win. We have not stated anything specific for these competitions. We have a team that, on paper, is quite even. It may be that one day someone is a little better and the next day someone else. This means that each competition lives its own life, and you notice each one is having a good day. But we don’t have a number one skier we want to cherish.”

What do you want to see from the skiers now in the rollerski season?

“From those who are more specialists on rollerskis, I want to see that they are involved and have the technique. It’s always fun if you get good results, but at the same time, it’s a long time to work on it if you don’t. You want the athletes to perform well and succeed to gain self-confidence and feel good.”

When you have many new athletes in the group, is it still an advantage that you can get the team together now in the summer before the winter starts?

“Yes, I would say that it is both that you meet and that you get a little more into competition mode. You get to know each other better that way, as a group. The way I see it, there are only advantages to these rollerski competitions and doing a lot of races. Especially for us who have a fairly new team, there is a lot we can benefit from.”