Team Edux is ready for the upcoming season, even though the team lineup has changed slightly from last year. Eric Storvall and Noora Kivikko have decided to retire from competitive skiing, but the team still consists of seven members, and team captain Olli Tyrväinen is confident ahead of the season.

“Bad Gastein has been a good race for us, and I believe that we can ski into the top ten in the prologue tomorrow. The track is quite gentle, but, of course, the altitude brings its own challenges. We have Isac, who is strong in skiing on flat terrains, and Sofia also skied well last year,” Olli says in an interview with Maastohiihto.com.

The two skiers Olli mentioned, Isac Holmström and Sofia Lindberg, are key members of the team. Isac, who resides in Åland, has been the best Finnish skier in Vasaloppet for several years. The team has had good training sessions after the last season, and Olli sounds confident as the new season begins.

“We’ve had good training camps. In June, we were in Jyväskylä, in July in Åland, in September in Vuokatti, and a couple of weeks ago in Ylläs. The focus has been on double-poling and its development. We’ve shared all our training programs on social media, and there’s always an open invitation for others to join our training sessions. The camps have had athletes from other teams, and there were also B-national team skiers in Vuokatti. We see it as an opportunity to share information and train together. The crucial thing is that some Finn skis well in Ski Classics, whether it’s from our team, Team Mäenpää, or Kaski-Ekovilla,” Olli emphasizes.

Olli highlights two other Finnish Pro Teams and strongly emphasizes the importance of collaboration between teams. Currently, there are so few athletes focusing purely on double-poling that it’s essential to utilize skiers from other teams in intense training sessions.

“The sport is heading more in the direction of cycling. The training sessions are long in terms of time, and there are various intensity segments at the beginning, middle, and end. I wouldn’t say that this Vasaloppet-style training is new to us, but for the last couple of years, we’ve systematically increased the volume of these workouts. Of course, traditional endurance training should not be forgotten because the foundation of endurance is built on long and easy runs. We’ve done those amid tough sessions,” Olli explains Team Edux’s training philosophy.

Olli himself trains about 900 hours a year, but the team’s hardest worker is Isac, who, Olli claims, was training at a furious pace, keeping up with the well-known Remi Lindholm, halfway through the year.

“Isac trains about 1200 hours a year. Sofia, on the other hand, trains independently in Sweden and, at least according to Strava, trains enough. Joonas Sarkkinen joined the team as a new skier, and he has been one of the best normal-distance skiers in Finland. I believe he has the potential for this sport.”

Olli strongly emphasizes the fact that long-distance skiing and Ski Classics serve as an excellent stepping stone for normal-distance races. Double-poling training strongly develops the upper and core body, which benefits all skiing distances.

“I hope that more skiers see Ski Classics as a career option or a development path for normal distances. In Finland, there’s a bit of an attitude to prefer the Finland Cup or the Scandinavian Cup over Ski Classics. In that regard, the situation is not easy on the home front.”

With Olli’s words, we engage in a conversation about the Swedish sensation Alvar Myhlback, who, at just 16 years old, competed at the top in Ski Classics races, inspiring young people to join the sport. The skier finished eighth in Vasaloppet last winter at the age of 17. The remarkable success of the young skier led to the decision to lower the age limits for races. This season, Alvar has already skied at the pace of the world’s best normal-distance men, and if his development continues, he could become one of the greatest skiers of all time.

Read also: Fleten and Stadaas winners of Bad Gastein Criterium Season XV

While Team Edux doesn’t have junior-aged future prospects, Olli expects a lot from his team. Vasaloppet and Marcialonga are their main races for the upcoming season, and the captain admits that Marcialonga is his favorite race due to the track and atmosphere. Reistadløpet, on the other hand, is the skiing event that interests the skier the least because it mainly involves kick-and-glide techniques.

In addition to Marcialonga, Team Edux started in the Bad Gastein prologue races this weekend, and Isac will continue to La Venosta in Italy for the next weekend. January races, Drei Zinnen Ski Marathon and Engadin La Diagonela, are also on the schedule. The Jizerská50 race is skipped by the team as they want to focus on Vasaloppet. A week before the main race, there are Ski Classics competitions in Orsa, located right next to Mora. The Norwegian races in spring are excluded from the schedule, except for the season’s final race, Janteloppet, where skiers compete on a hundred-kilometer course in mid-April.

“In terms of goals, our basic idea is to provide athletes with conditions that allow them to achieve their best possible results and enable their development in the future. We want to reach the top ten in the team competition, and Isac has the opportunity to finish between 20 and 30 in individual races such as Vasaloppet. Sofia is also a skier who can reach the top ten if she has a good day. My best placement is 44th, and I aim to break into the thirties. Joonas Sarkkinen and Anni Alakoski are still question marks because they don’t have solid experience in the sport,” Olli reveals when discussing their objectives.

Speaking of goals, we contemplate together how demanding long-distance skiing, especially Ski Classics, is today. The old-fashioned recreational skiing mentality is history, and in races, skiers go all out from start to finish.

“It’s true that for anyone new to these races, the intensity comes as a shock. There’s no time for chatting or stopping for necessities during the races; it’s full speed ahead all the time. Ski Classics is a tough game. The first 5-10 km are crucial for determining which group you’ll be skiing with throughout the race. We always ski at our limit!”

One significant challenge for the sport’s development in Finland is the absence of a Ski Classics race in the country. Ylläs-Levi is missing from the calendar, and no new event has taken its place to attract the world’s top skiers.

“It’s a pity that we lack that showcase. Ylläs-Levi had many normal-distance skiers watching the atmosphere, but now that this opportunity is missing, there may be a risk that the sport distances itself more and more, and athletes don’t see it as a possible career path. It would be great to have Finlandia-hiihto included, as it’s the biggest and most traditional ski event in Finland.”

Olli points out that Finland currently has three strong Pro Teams that are professionally dedicated to the sport. He acknowledges with regret that acquiring sponsors is challenging in these times.

“I don’t handle that aspect myself; we have Juha Kärkkäinen and Tuomo Mertaniemi who manage the business. We’re trying to build a network of partners alongside all the traditional visibility so that partners can connect with each other and learn about each other’s businesses. For example, we have a closed Facebook group where they are encouraged to interact.”

Acquiring sponsors and partners is indeed one of the toughest challenges for domestic teams, but a determined attitude leads to results. Olli believes in this, and he calls for open dialogue. Speaking of openness, the skier mentions the Olos races in November and how unprofessionally the race communication was handled.

“Olos was supposed to have many double-polers, but just before the races, they decided to include compulsory alternating technique sections. Many skiers, such as Andreas Nygaard, skipped the race because of that. Isac and I skied through the route and double-poled in forbidden areas, of course getting disqualified performances. It’s a bit unfair that skiers come from afar, and only upon arrival are they informed that they can’t double-pole. As a marketing doctor, I would say that when you buy a service, consumer protection law protects you. The content of the service should be what was purchased.”

Olli admits, however, in the same breath, that every rule has two sides. He wishes that athletes would be listened to more when making rules and changes. We discuss recent decisions by the International Ski Federation (FIS), and together we conclude that many changes seem to be heading in a direction that may not necessarily develop the sport or serve the skiers.

“I strongly believe that practicing skiing should be made as easy as possible. The sport is small, and we have to pull together,” Olli concludes the interview succinctly.

Certainly, we all agree with Olli’s message and hope that skiing as a whole continues to develop and remains one of our nation’s favorite sports. Team Edux, along with other Finnish Ski Classics teams, is doing unique work for our sport, deserving recognition from all skiing enthusiasts. I don’t have a crystal ball to see the future, but I strongly believe that Finnish Pro Teams, like Team Edux, are paving the way for the sport’s summit with their success and setting an example that will inspire future generations to push skiing to the brightest starry skies.