The Pro Team athlete had his best season in Ski Classics and achieved his individual best result. But focusing on long-distance races was coincidental. In this article, Team Eksjöhus’ Axel Jutterström talks about the phone call that brought him to long-distance skiing, the unexpected Swedish Championships medal, and his goals for the upcoming winter.

Three years ago, Axel Jutterström received a phone call from Team Eksjöhus’ current Pro Team Director Espen Träldal. The question was, “Do you want to focus on long-distance skiing with us at Team Eksjöhus?”

“I hadn’t thought about it before the question came, but the choice was quite simple when it did. I felt like I was a bit stuck with the traditional distances. And focusing on long-distance races wouldn’t exclude the possibility of also competing in traditional races,” says Axel Jutterström to Langd.se.

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Already in his first winter as a Pro Team athlete, he reached the podium in Ski Classics and on the most prestigious event of all: Vasaloppet.

And finishing third at Vasaloppet as a Mora boy is, to say the least, significant. But this past winter, he improved his top result in Ski Classics, finishing second at the La Venosta ITT.

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This was just one in a series of top results for Jutterström, who was among the top ten nine times during Season XV. This meant he finished sixth in the Ski Classics Champion competition:

“I’ve had a very good season, especially the beginning. Doing so well from the start built up expectations further, perhaps to get another podium finish or even a win. But unfortunately, it didn’t happen. And I’m not entirely satisfied with my performances in Marcialonga and Vasaloppet. So, it was a very good season, but there’s still more to achieve,” says Jutterström, who got Marthe Kristoffersen as a coach before last season.

And like many other athletes on the team, he made clear progress:

“I used to manage my training on my own, and there aren’t major differences in the sessions I run. I still manage my training quite a lot. But through Marthe, it has become clearer periodization, and I have better control over rest and recovery. I also believe we, as a team, do a bit more skating and more ‘whole body’ training than other long-distance teams. It’s not much, but still more than other teams,” says Jutterström.

In terms of skating, he has made clear progress, as he showed during the Swedish Championships week, when he took his first individual Swedish Championships medal by grabbing silver in the mass start in freestyle (additionally, he finished fourth in the 50km classic).

“Skating has worked well even though I don’t train it much. I believe this progress is because I’ve increased my capacity and become stronger. Then, the upper body strength from double poling is also beneficial for skating,” says Jutterström.

What are the goals for the upcoming Ski Classics Season XVI?

“We had a very good season as a team. But none of the men won any race. So, getting my first win is something that really motivates me. Then, I aim to be at my best on the first Sunday in March. Vasaloppet is the main goal,” concludes Jutterström.

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