I have no indisputable proof, but I firmly believe that the unluckiest athlete in the world of cross-country ski racing (not just in Ski Classics) must be the Norwegian Johan Hoel.

By the time of this article’s publication from Tomáš Kocanda (Bezky.net), Johan Hoel had finished second in eleven Ski Classics Pro Tour events. Impressively, in five of those, he took silver in his first-ever appearance at the event. His “losses” (or rather “non-wins” – after all, silver is still a top result!) are typically razor-thin. He was second by less than two seconds on seven occasions, and in three of those by less than a second.

Johan also has a brother, Amund, who only finished second once – and stole that silver from Johan…

Long-distance races suit him

Born in 1994, Johan Hoel is no slouch. At the 2014 Junior World Championships in Val di Fiemme, he won bronze in skiathlon (10 + 10km) and gold in the 4x5km relay. Interestingly, he made his Ski Classics debut even earlier – at Birkebeinerrennet 2013, at just 18 years old, finishing an impressive 22nd.

Ski Classics turned out to be the perfect arena for Johan. His next race, again at Birken, came five years later in 2018, and this time he placed sixth. His third appearance came at Reistadløpet 2019, over a year later, and it brought his first podium – second place. He raced without a Pro Team and finished just 1.2 seconds behind winner Mikael Gunnulfsen. So close to a victory in only his third Ski Classics start…

His fourth race came at Vasaloppet 2021, where he was sixth again.

He took another silver in April 2022 at Ylläs-Levi, where he lost to Emil Persson by 0.9 seconds. In the next winter race (I stress “winter” because Ski Classics also includes summer rollerski events), the Bad Gastein Criterium, which kicked off the 2022/2023 season, Johan lost again to Emil Persson, this time by 3.3 seconds.

Incidentally, third place in Bad Gastein went to Germany’s Thomas Bing, who earned his only Ski Classics Pro Tour podium there – unfortunately still racing for the German team XC-ski.de. Now, he competes for the Czech eD system Vltava Fund team.

Back to Norway’s “almost-king” Johan – whose streak of misfortune continued. In that same season (2022/2023), he was second at Birken and Summit 2 Senja. On Senja, he finished 45.3 seconds behind winner Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget – unusually large for Johan – but at Birken, he lost to Andreas Nygaard by just 0.1 seconds, or mere centimeters. That’s more like the typical Johan.

In the 2023/2024 season, Johan finished second at La Diagonela (1.7s behind Kasper Stadaas), Vasaloppet (3.5s behind Torleif Syrstad, but ahead of a not-yet-18-year-old Alvar Myhlback), and once again second at Birken, this time 1.3 seconds behind his Ragde Charge teammate Andreas Nygaard.

The lone victory

Just when it seemed like his streak was a curse, a miracle happened: in the penultimate race of the 2023/2024 season, at Reistadløpet 2024, Johan finally won, by the same kind of margin he usually loses – 0.4 seconds!

It’s fitting that fortune finally smiled on him at Reistadløpet – because this single win made him a legend: Johan became the first-ever skier to win Reistadløpet using double poling. The organizers had to retire their former slogan that proudly boasted it was a race no double poling skier had ever won.

The poetic twist? Johan didn’t beat just any classic-style skier. He won by 0.4 seconds over Reistadløpet and Summit 2 Senja specialist Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, who had previously won every edition of both races from 2022 to 2024 – except this one.

Back to old habits

In the 2024/2025 season, things went back to the old routine. Johan was second at the 3 Zinnen Ski Marathon (1.2s behind Kasper Stadaas), second again at La Diagonela (0.4s behind Amund Riege), and ended the season with another silver at Senja – this time 4.4s behind Ole Jørgen Bruvoll, the overall season winner.

And to show how quickly things can come full circle: Vasaloppet that season wasn’t won by Johan, Amund, Nygaard, or Bruvoll – it was finally won by the then 18-year-old Swede, Alvar Myhlback.

Johan isn’t only good at taking silver. He’s also been third five times – at La Venosta Criterium (2023), Marcialonga (2024), Grönklitt Classic (2024), Jizerská 50 (2025), and Birken (2025).

Thanks to his incredible consistency, he won the Ski Classics overall title in 2024, where he and his Ragde Charge teammates swept the podium: Stadaas second, Nygaard third.

In 2025, the overall winner was Ole Jørgen Bruvoll. His team, Engcon, repeated Ragde Charge’s feat from a year earlier, taking all podium spots: Bruvoll first, Johan Tjelle second, and Amund Hoel third.

Yes, Amund is Johan’s younger brother, by two and a half years. Unlike Johan, Amund only has one silver – from Birken 2025, where he beat his brother by 0.3s but lost to Nygaard by 0.2s.

I don’t know how the battle between Ragde Charge and Engcon will continue – or between the Hoel brothers – but I, for one, hope Johan gets more gold. Being the eternal unlucky guy has to be exhausting.

Read More – Johan Hoel: A Journey to Yellow