She was in the fight for overall victory all the way to the final Pro Tour event in her first entire season at Ski Classics. In the upcoming winter, Team Eksjöhus Magni Smedås aims to win the Yellow Champion’s bib and achieve another skiing dream the following season.

A year ago, Magni Smedås transitioned to long-distance skiing from traditional cross-country skiing, which was an immediate success. 

In her debut season in Ski Classics, she was in the top five in all events. Twice she was the winner: at the 50th anniversary of Marcialonga and Jizerská50.

“It was a season that exceeded all my expectations. I was pretty sure I would have long-distance potential, but a lot needs to be done. I stayed healthy, could race all the events, and was also able to get in good training between races. Although I am very happy with the season, there is a lot that I can improve for the coming season,” says Smedås to Langd.se and adds: 

“It is about maintaining continuity. Last summer, I was quite injured, so I didn’t get all the specific double poling training I needed. I noticed that Ida, Astrid, and Emilie (Dahl, Øyre Slind, and Fleten) had a different level in the races when starting to get tired, there I showed some weaknesses, but I think I can be even stronger if I get specific training with a lot of double poling.”

During the training camp days, she was together with her teammates, but also with gets to camp together with her skating colleagues, but also with Team Eksjöhus’ new coach Marthe Kristoffersen.

The collaboration between Magni and Marthe is not new:

“I had Marthe as a coach for three years in Team Innlandet, and I look forward to working together again. And it would be very good if more women came in as coaches. Marthe is assertive in her training and dares to try new things, and I am convinced that we can develop together. Then, I learned a lot from and had a very good collaboration with Oskar (former Pro Team Director Oskar Svärd) during the last season. 

What training changes will you make for this season?

“One change has been to train more on the SkiErg. So that’s the first project: the becoming-friends-with-the-skierg-project (and laughs). All my speed workouts during May were on SkiErg. It’s a good way to introduce intervals and speed training in a gentle way. On the other hand, I will continue with the combined sessions I had before where, for example, I can split a six-hour session with two hours of skating, two hours of running, and two hours of double poling.”

What is the goal for the coming season?

“I was really close to the Yellow bib last winter. This winter, I hope to make it all the way,” says Smedås, who, in less than two years, aims to fulfill another skiing dream, being part of the Norwegian National Team for the World Championships in Trondheim:

“I am very grateful that Team Eksjöhus provides the opportunity for my plans and that they want to help me achieve my dreams. One of these is to go to the World Championships on home soil. And a great source of inspiration is Astrid Øyre Slind from last winter,” says Smedås.

How about your race program for this winter?

“I will go traditional cross-country skiing at Beitostølen and Gålå before the Ski Classics start. Then we’ll see if there will be any clash with the World Cup. But this winter, the main focus is long-distance races.”

What distance are you aiming for at the World Championships in February-March 2025?

“The skating events (sprint and 50km freestyle).”

Have you developed the freestyle technique since you took the step to long-distance races with basically only double poling?

“Yes, of course. You could see, for example, in Martin Johnsrud Sundby that he got a boost in skating when he started to double pole more. The upper body has very similar movement patterns; it’s “just” about getting the legs together,” says the 28-year-old from Lillehammer, Norway.