With the last two Pro Tour events within 24 hours, Ski Classics Season XIV ends this weekend. On the women’s side, there will be a fight between Ida Dahl and Magni Smedås for the overall victory.

“It’s no secret, my goal is to beat Ida, and her goal is to beat me,” says Smedås ahead of the weekend.

In early December, Ski Classics Season XIV started in Austria. On Sunday, it’s time for the final Pro Tour event of the season. But there is a tough final weekend ahead. On Saturday, it’s time for the Reistadløpet (40 kilometers), and on Sunday, the new Summit 2 Senja (68 kilometers) is on the program. The finishes take place in Bardufoss and Finnsnes, respectively, in northern Norway.

Emil Persson had already secured the overall victory on the men’s side. But on the women’s side, it’s a tight fight for the Yellow Champion bib.

Team Engcon’s Ida Dahl tops the ranking with a 55-point margin to runner-up Magni Smedås, Team Eksjöhus (Team Ramudden’s Emilie Fleten also has a theoretical opportunity to win, but the margin to the leader Dahl is 301 points). 

The winner of each race collects 200 points, so a total of 400 points are up for grabs.

Dahl and Smedås are also in the fight for the Sprint bib, where the difference is five points, and in between, there is also Team Ragde Charge’s Anikken Gjerde Alnæs.

“I had no idea I was so close to the Sprint bib. I saw it a few days ago. So I guess I’ll try to sprint a bit for that, too,” says Magni Smedås with a laugh.

But the fight for the Yellow bib is the main focus.

“Great fun that it’s a fight all the way. And it’s no secret; my goal is to beat Ida, and her goal is to beat me,” says Smedås, who is in his first full season as a Pro Tour skier:

“It has been an absolutely fantastic season above all expectations. I could not have dreamed that I would be able to join and fight for victory in the yellow bib all the way to the last competition. Now I’m eager to exhaust the last energy for this season. And I have learned many lessons that I will be able to take with me into the next season,” says Smedås.

One thing distinguishing Reistadløpet is that the race (neither on the women’s nor the men’s side) has never been won by double poling.

“I haven’t decided whether I will go with the kick wax or not. I know that if there are tough conditions, I’m best off skiing with kick wax. But if the conditions are right, I am open to double poling. It simply depends on what the conditions are like,” says Smedås.

Ida Dahl is on the same line. Last weekend she won Flyktingloppet in a competition where Emilie Fleten skied with kick wax. But the double-poling Dahl was thirteen seconds ahead at the finish line.

“It was a tiring day. I had to fight through the whole race. Since then, I have rested for a couple of days to recharge my batteries for what lies ahead. But I’m a little unsure of how the shape is, and I’m tired. But that’s all at this time of the season,” says Dahl.

The upcoming competition weekend is the fourth time there are two competitions during the same weekend. Ida Dahl has won doubles in two of these (Bad Gastein and Orsa Grönklitt), and in the third double weekend (Pustertaler Ski Marathon and Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge), she was first and third, respectively.

“I’m usually pretty good ‘day 2’ after a competition the day before. I don’t know if it’s because I have a faster recovery or if there is some other explanation. Filling up with energy and resting is what I do. But everyone else does, too,” says Dahl with a smile ahead of the decisive weekend.

FACTS

How much are 55 points?
If Magni Smedås wins both of the weekend’s competitions and Ida Dahl comes second, Smedås wins the overall with a margin of five points.

Distribution of Points for each competition

• First – 200 points
• Second – 170 points
• Third – 150 points
• Fourth – 130 points
• Fifth – 120 points
• Sixth – 105 points
• Seventh – 100 points
• Then decreasing to 60th place, which gives one point.

See The Full List Of Points Here

Next up is Reistadløpet on April 1 and Summit 2 Senja on April 2. The events mark the 13th and 14th Ski Classics stages and the final weekend of Season XIV.

The Season XIV of Ski Classics Pro Tour consists of 14 events on 10 event weekends in 6 different countries. 

 Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XIV (2022/2023)

• Event 1: December 10, 2022 – Bad Gastein PTT, Bad Gastein, Austria, 15km
• Event 2: December 11, 2022 – Bad Gastein Criterium, Bad Gastein, Austria, 35km
• Event 3: December 17, 2022 – La Venosta Criterium, Val Venosta, Italy, 36km 
• Event 4: January 14, 2023 – Pustertaler Ski Marathon, Sexten, Italy, 62km
• Event 5: January 15, 2023 – Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge, Niederdorf, Italy, 32km
• Event 6: January 21, 2023 – Engadin La Diagonela, Engadin Valley, Switzerland, 48km 
• Event 7: January 29, 2023 – Marcialonga, Trentino, Italy, 70km
• Event 8: February 12, 2023 – Jizerská50, Bedřichov, Czech Republic, 50km
• Event 9: February 18, 2023 – Grönklitt Criterium, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 50km
• Event 10: February 19, 2023 – Grönklitt ITT, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 12km
• Event 11: March 5, 2023 – Vasaloppet, Sälen-Mora, Sweden, 90km
• Event 12: March 18, 2023 – Birkebeinerrennet, Rena-Lillehammer, Norway, 54km
• Event 13: April 1, 2023 – Reistadløpet, Setermoen-Bardufoss, Norway, 40km
• Event 14: April 2, 2023 – Summit 2 Senja, Bardufoss- Finnsnes, Norway, 68km

More information about the Ski Classics Pro Tour you can find at skiclassics.com.