In this article, Lindström discusses the change, the expectations for the season, and the coming months of training.

It was during the Ski Classics Grand Finale last season that Team Eksjöhus and Louise Lindström announced that the Swedish athlete and 2020 Junior World Champion in sprint would focus on long-distance races next winter:

“I was part of the team during the Ski Classics weekend in Orsa, at Tjejvasan, and Janteloppet, and I immediately noticed that this is an environment I thrive in and that I want to be part of what Team Eksjöhus is building,” says Lindström, who earlier this week began her first training camp with the team.

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But the collaboration with new coach Marthe Kristoffersen started already a month ago:

“We are still early in the training year, and Marthe has been cautious about really taking this step by step. It’s important that I’m not thrown into something I can’t handle or am not ready for. The part that it is mainly about getting used to is the muscular endurance in the upper body by just double polling. So, we are adding more double poling each period, but gradually,” Louise says to Langd.se.

What are the significant differences in the training program so far?

“It’s the long sessions. In the past, I’ve done 30km races at the most, but in the Ski Classics, it’s longer races, and you have to get your body used to doing four or five hours of double poling. I tried to race some long races last winter, and I wasn’t really trained for the races I started, but I wanted to try. And I can say that I haven’t really been that keen on racing long races before. That urge came last winter, and now that choice feels just right,” says Lindström.

When she skied three Ski Classics Pro Tour events last winter, fifth place in the Grönklitt ITT was her best result. She also finished eighth at Tjejvasan.

The biggest challenge, however, was Janteloppet, where Lindström finished fifteenth after having been out for almost five and a half hours.

“It was really an experience. At the time, I had just decided to take the step to long-distance racing and wondered if this was really the right decision. Haha! I had never raced that far before, and it really gives a hardness for what is to come.”

What are your goals for your debut season in Ski Classics?

“I’ve been clear that I want to be the best I can be at long-distance skiing, and I’m excited to see how this will benefit me traditional (cross-country skiing) as well. This journey that I have now started is something that feels both nice and very inspiring. One of my goals for the winter is to try something for the Youth competition. Then it will be very much new for me. When I was about six years old, I was with my parents at Marcialonga. They did the long race, and I did the “Mini-Marcialonga,” so there is a circle that will be closed this winter when I stand on the starting line in Marcialonga,” concludes Louise Lindström.

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