Finnish Team Kaskipuu’s Ski Classics season was successful by many measures, as Juuso Mäkelä’s investment in long-distance showed in his good performances, and Oona Kettunen was able to ski top 10 finishes in her first Ski Classics season. 

Among the Finnish Pro Teams, Team Kaskipuu was the second-best team (16th place) in the Pro Team competition, despite not attending all competitions. 

After the season, the team posted on social media that they were looking for an under-25-year-old female skier to join the squad.

“There have been a few contacts,” Pro Team Director Kari Varis tells Maastohiihto.com.

Although recruiting a young skier is still in its early stages, Team Kaskipuu’s plans for next season are already very much in place.

“There will be a lot of races that we attend. Some of the athletes will probably do the whole series. We have calculated the budget and considered the athletes we can take and who has shown interest.” 

Last year, the decision on the number of races was not finalized until the autumn. The team missed the last two weekends in Ski Classics this season as planned initially, but overall the season was good.

“The good thing was that we got relatively strong as a team. We are a pretty solid team in Ski Classics. Juuso Mäkelä was well in the fight in many races and got some good individual placements. On the women’s side, it was a surprise that Oona Kettunen did so well. That being said, she got to start a lot of races. Good recruitment,” Varis says happily.

Another solid skier on the men’s side, Veli-Matti Räsänen, got injured in early January, forcing him to take a break from competitions. However, finally, Räsänen was still able to take part in Vasaloppet.

What would it take in Finland for a skier in their twenties to see potential in long distances at Ski Classics and start investing in it full-time?

“All I can see is that the team should be able to support the athlete financially so that it could become a job. That is quite difficult in Finland.”

Varis skied long distances when he was younger, improving his endurance. After a few seasons, he switched back to traditional distances.

“It does not rule anything out if you spend one or two winters focusing on long distances. It can give you a good basis for the future,” says Team Kaskipuu Pro Team Director.

Last year Team Kaskipuu had one camp in Spain in October, but now the plan is to have another camp in Ylläs, North of Finland, in the summer in addition to the October camp in Spain.

The Season XIV of Ski Classics Pro Tour consisted 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.