The Ski Classics Season XIV continues after the Christmas break this weekend in Italy, where the Pustertaler Ski Marathon and Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge await the skiers. Team Mäenpää’s Viktor Mäenpää is looking forward to the first races of the year.

In December’s Ski Classics competitions, the Finnish skier was 44th in the Bad Gastein Criterium and 30th in the La Venosta Criterium.

” I got sick just before Bad Gastein, so it disrupted the first weekend. La Venosta was a step in the right direction and good because at high altitude and on that type of race course, the feeling was still not the best,” Mäenpää tells Maastohiihto.com.

Mäenpää is looking forward to the Ski Classics races in January after a successful volume training period during the Christmas break. 

” After La Venosta, I have been training well, and I feel that I am getting back into shape, so I am looking forward to the January races. I hope to be able to fight for the top 20. Marcialonga is my main goal for the season,” says Mäenpää.

Viktor Mäenpää has a good training season behind him. Training camps were a success as well. 

“During the autumn, I felt better than ever, so now I just need to get that feeling back.”

If you could change one thing or improve one thing at Ski Classics, what would it be?

“I would like to try a ‘Mini Tour’ with 4-5 races within a week. It would be fun to test something like that,” concludes Mäenpää. 

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, 30km
• Event 6: January 21, 2023 – Engadin La Diagonela, Engadin Valley, Switzerland, 55km 
• Event 7: January 29, 2023 – Marcialonga, Trentino, Italy, 70km
• Event 8: February 12, 2023 – Jizerská50, Bedrichov, Czech Republic, 50km
• Event 9: February 18, 2023 – Grönklitt Criterium, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 50km
• Event 10: February 19, 2023 – Grönklitt ITT, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 15km
• 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, 67km

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

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