Last season, Team Kaskipuu finished 16th place in the Pro Team competition, a solid improvement from the 34th position two years ago. Pro Team Director Kari Varis talks about the goals for the coming season:

“The training of the top skiers in the team has been hard, and the speeds have been quite fast, so they are in good shape at the moment. For women, we can expect to finish in the top 10, and for men, on a good day, in the top 20,” Varis states.

Regarding top skiers, the Pro Team Director refers to Oona Kettunen, who joined Ski Classics last season, as well as Juuso Mäkelä and Veli-Matti Räsänen.

Next winter, 20-year-old Fanny Kukonlehto and 22-year-old Eerika Konu, who are part of the Finnish U23 national team, will also be skiing in the colors of Kaskipuu.

“The points for Youth athletes are decisive because they get many of them. Double poling certainly helps to develop even on traditional distances,” says Varis.

He believes the team’s growth is positive because you can have better group ski training with a larger squad.

According to Varis, the intention is not to attract athletes from traditional cross-country skiing and jump fully into Ski Classics. He believes the sports can benefit from each other when the competition calendar is planned accordingly.

“We have a somewhat limited number of skiers in Finland who have the potential to represent Finland in traditional races. Many people can get an extra boost there from the Ski Classics side because the performance on traditional races often improves when you go to long-distance races.

Ski Classics in Finland

Varis thinks not having a Ski Classics Pro Tour competition in Finland and Estonia can significantly affect the sport’s appreciation.

“It is not necessarily on the rise here (Finland) at the moment, as the competitions are held in Central Europe, Norway and Sweden. There, appreciation is in a completely different category. Here, you have to explain what Ski Classics is.”

According to Varis, a big challenge is that potential winners don’t want to move away from traditional skiing. According to him, being at the top today would require total dedication to Ski Classics.

Also Read: After an eventful season, Räsänen knows where he needs to improve

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