The First Non-Scandinavian Finishing Top 3 In A Bib Competition

by ANDRÉ SANTOS • 29.04.2023
Bib Competition
In this interview, ProXCskiing talked to the first non-Scandinavian to finish top 3 in a bib competition. The Pro Tour athlete shared his season highlights, training routine, and future goals.
In this interview, ProXCskiing talked to the first non-Scandinavian to finish top 3 in a bib competition. The Pro Tour athlete shared his season highlights, training routine, and future goals.

Lorenzo Busin is an Italian cross-country skier who has made a name for himself in the sport. He has had an impressive season, finishing top 3 in the Sprint Bib competition and achieving his best Ski Classics result. 

He has also made history by becoming the first non-Scandinavian athlete to finish top 3 in a bib competition. In this interview, he will discuss his best and worst moments of the season, his training routine, and his goals for the next season. 

What have been the best and worst moments of the season for you?

“I was probably in my best shape between January and February. I managed to be competitive in the Sprint Bib competition, finishing top 3 in many sprints. I’m also proud of this year’s Marcialonga; usually, I don’t perform really well there, but this year it was probably my best Ski Classics race. I finished 35th, but pretty close to the first guys despite having tried to go for the sprint points. In Jizerská50, I achieved my best Ski Classics result, finishing 24th. I’m also proud of my victory in Gsiesertal Lauf, the 2nd most important Italian long-distance race. That meant a lot to me.”

“The worst moment of the season was the last month before the last two races. After Vasaloppet, I couldn’t participate in any events until Reistadløpet. I think my motivation was not on top then, we also lacked snow, and I had to train with rollerskis a few times. That’s why I think I wasn’t in my prime shape for the last two events, especially in Summit 2 Senja, where I felt exhausted.”

What does it mean for you and your Team to be the first non-Scandinavian athlete to finish in the top 3 in a bib competition?

“Finishing 3rd in the Sprint Ranking meant a lot to me. Before this year, I participated in Ski Classics without a goal for a certain bib since our Team didn’t have specific roles. However, when I realized that I was competitive in the sprint-bib competition, I changed my plan for the season, and I also adapted the training a bit to practice to improve further. My primary goal was, of course, to win a sprint, so my only regret is that I couldn’t win any sprint even though I was really close in Marcialonga when I fell while in first position in Predazzo.”

“Being also the first non-Scandinavian athlete to finish top 3 in a bib competition feels excellent. My hard work has paid off, so I’ll try to go all in for the next season to be even more competitive. “

“My Team, Team Internorm Alpenplus Trentino, is also really proud of the result; they helped me the entire season, doing their best to make sure I participated in almost every Ski Classics event to be competitive in the Sprint ranking. I’m grateful to everyone in the Team, from managers to ski men and supporters.”

What have you done in your training last season to improve so much?

“Last year, I wasn’t completely satisfied after the season. So, right after the season’s last race, I sat down in my room and wrote a general training plan for the entire season, planning 900 training hours, while I usually did 650/700. I was really motivated to step up the game, and I wanted to be competitive in Ski Classics, not only in Italian competitions.”

“I always trained alone, except when the Team organized training camps, then I was training with my Teammates. I decided to write my plan and train mostly by myself because it was the only way I could have achieved those 25/30 training hours/week in the summer. I needed to work 6 hours/day in the office, so I had to use my time wisely. Unfortunately, I live in an area where it’s hard to find training mates without traveling with the car for quite a bit.” 

“It would be much easier if I could train like a full-time Pro athlete, but at the moment, I also need to work to have a stable income.”

Have you already set any goals for next season?

“The main goal for the next season is a spot on the podium of the Sprint ranking. I’ll try to improve where I lacked this year, to try to be even more competitive.” 

“Initially, my participation in the Sprint Competition was not planned; it just happened randomly when in Val Venosta, I was 2nd in the Sprint. From then, I tried to go for all sprints when possible.”

“I also want to be more stable in the top 30 in Ski Classics; sometimes I bonked completely after the Sprints, like in Pustertaler Ski Marathon or Vasaloppet. So, I need to improve my endurance to be able to finish the race in a better position.”

Will you make any changes to summer season training? How will you spend it?

“I’ll soon start writing the training plan for the next season. I’ll make some changes because I know exactly where I lack; the last year, I did more cycling hours than roller skiing hours, and it was probably not ideal. I love cycling, but this year I’ll do more specific training on rollerskis to improve my endurance in long-distance events, especially the longer ones like Vasaloppet or Summit 2 Senja.

“I’ll also try to find some mates to train with that can also be good for motivation and push hard in the interval sessions.”

“This could also be my last season because I’m having troubles with my job; the fact that I’m missing from the workplace for many days during the season is not ideal. And it will be very hard to find another job that lets me train 3/4 hours per day during the year.”

“That said, I’ll try to do my best to be really performing the next season because it could be my last.”

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.

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