Last weekend’s Marcialonga, a 70-kilometer long-distance race, brought another podium finish for Roivas. The race was won by Emilie Fleten, Team Ramudden, with Roivas finishing 36 seconds behind in third place. Magni Smedås, Team Eksjöhus was second.

“As I expected, the pace increased from the Canazei sprint. I was in a good position going into the Soraga climb. The skiing felt quite good. When we reached the long flat section from Moena to the second sprint in Predazzo, Magni Smedås and I had to work really hard to get back to the lead group. I really had to push myself there and was to drop few times,” Roivas told Maastohiihto.com after the race.

“I knew anything was possible in the final climb. However, I had spent a lot of energy staying in the group on the flat section, so, by the end, I was pretty tired, but luckily, I managed to push through with a final sprint. I thought a podium finish was quite tough during the race, so it’s amazing to be in the top three in a big race like this,” she continued.

No Finn has achieved what Roivas has, who is currently second in the Ski Classics Champion competition overall. Kati is 207 points behind the leader, Fleten. In addition to Roivas, Heli Heiskanen and Ari Luusua have been in the top ten in the overall competition, but the top three have been quite far away.

Before Marcialonga, Roivas was third in the Engadin La Diagonela, second in the 3 Zinnen Ski Marathon, and third in the La Venosta ITT race.

The article continues below.

Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XV

The Season XV of Ski Classics Pro Tour consists of 15 events on 11 event weekends in 6 different countries. The season started in Bad Gastein, Austria, on December 9, 2023, and will end in Norway with the 100km Ski Classics Grand Finale Janteloppet on April 13, 2024.

Next up is Jizerská50 in the Czech Republic on February 11, 2024. The event marks the eighth Ski Classics Pro Tour stage and the second Grand Classics event of Season XV. 

Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XV (2023/2024)

• Event 1: December 9, 2023 – Bad Gastein PTT, Austria, 13km
• Event 2: December 10, 2023 – Bad Gastein Criterium, Austria, 36km
• Event 3: December 16, 2023 – La Venosta Criterium, Italy, 37km 
• Event 4: December 17, 2023 – La Venosta ITT, Italy, 10km
• Event 5: January 13, 2024 – 3 Zinnen Ski Marathon, Italy, 62km
• Event 6: January 20, 2024 – Engadin La Diagonela, Switzerland, 55km
• Event 7: January 28, 2024 – Marcialonga, Italy, 70km
• Event 8: February 11, 2024 – Jizerská50, Czech Republic, 50km
• Event 9: February 17, 2024 – Grönklitt Classic, Sweden, 60km
• Event 10: February 18, 2024 – Grönklitt ITT, Sweden, 13km
• Event 11: March 3, 2024 – Vasaloppet, Sweden, 90km
• Event 12: March 16, 2024 – Birkebeinerrennet, Norway, 54km
• Event 13: April 6, 2024 – Reistadløpet, Norway, 50km
• Event 14: April 7, 2024 – Summit 2 Senja, Norway, 60km
• Event 15: April 13, 2024 – Ski Classics Grand Finale – Janteloppet, Norway, 100km

More information about the Ski Classics Pro Tour can be found at skiclassics.com