“The goal is to fight for victory in the biggest races. And if you do that, you’re also fighting for the overall victory,” says the Team Ragde Charge skier, Oskar Kardin.

A month into last season’s Ski Classics, Team Ragde Charge’s Oskar Kardin was fifth overall, thanks to good results and a second place at the Pustertaler Ski Marathon. But then, he had a long break in the middle of the season. 

The reason for the break was an accident during ski training in Livigno:

“We were out training and were heading down a hill. At the bottom, a small road crossed the ski track. It was relatively calm there, and little traffic on the road that only went into some houses. Unfortunately, a car came from the right just as I was about to cross the road. My plan was to ski straight across the snow-covered road; I saw the car too late, tried to brake, but couldn’t stop in time and ended up on the road right in front of the car that hit me and threw me into the aluminum post of a traffic sign,” Kardin told after the accident.

Read More: Kardin Hit By A Car While Skiing 

Kardin managed to come back impressively and was 23rd at Vasaloppet just over a month after the accident, and another two weeks later, he was fifth at Birkebeinerrennet.

“I have been cautious with the rehabilitation and made sure to strengthen the area around the shoulder to regain full mobility. Then there was a ligament in the shoulder that came loose, which means that the collarbone pokes up a little. But the function is good, and I don’t feel the hit,” says Kardin, who can look back on a good pre-season, albeit with an interruption during August when he was affected by Covid-19.

“It was hard right after Covid, we were in a training camp with the team during August, and then the form was not good at all. But since then, I think the body has responded in the way I want and has felt better and better,” says Kardin, who showed good form during the beginning of the winter, finishing tenth in the classic race in Bruksvallarna.

And last weekend, during a training camp in Livigno with Team Ragde Charge, he was second in the Alpen Cup in Santa Caterina Valfurva, Italy. 

“We have had several training camps at high altitude. We were in Lavaze in September and have been here for two weeks. I think it is valuable, considering that there are several competitions at altitude now at the beginning of the season. Training at high altitude provides a different stimulus, and I feel that you are better prepared to perform at high altitude.”

What are your goals for the season?

“I hope to be able to fight for victories in the biggest races. And if you manage to be high up there, you are in the fight for victory overall. Then I want to perform even now in the first races, even if the training load is now heavier than it is before Marcialonga and Vasaloppet,” says Kardin.

The Ski Classics Season XIV kicks off with Saturday’s Bad Gastein Pro Team Tempo, a 15km event:

“We discuss the tactics a lot before that race. Last year the race was a bit shorter, and we did the race as a “seven-step-rocket,” we´ll see if we will make it the same way this year. But I guess that we will be in the front one kilometer each. Then it’s about who has the day. We haven’t won the team tempo yet. But it feels like we have a great chance of succeeding with it this year,” concludes Oskar Kardin.