Emil Persson has won all the individual events during the first part of the Ski Classics Season XIV. Now the Lager 157 Ski Team athlete has set his sights on Vasaloppet and talks about the key points of trying to win the traditional Swedish long-distance race.

It is easy to summarize Emil Persson’s start to the season in Ski Classics.

• Victory at Bad Gastein Criterium.
• Victory at La Venosta Criterium.
• Victory at Pustertaler Ski Marathon.
• Victory at Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge.
• Victory at Engadin La Diagonela.
• Victory at Marcialonga.

“It has gone incredibly well. There are always some parts in several races that could be improved, but I haven’t had setbacks yet. But I think it’s linked to the fact that it goes by itself when you’re in good shape. That everything falls into place. If, on the other hand, you are not in good shape, it can feel hopeless to get into the situations you are looking for,” says Persson.

Have you felt during the summer and autumn that you have taken a step up ahead of this season?

“I have felt that I have developed. It has been shown by the fact that I have increased the amount of training and increased the load. On the standardized intervals, I run, I have seen higher watt values ​​on the SkiErg; I have managed to do more on certain intervals on the treadmill,” and continues:

“Then I put a lot of focus on getting better on uphills. It’s about getting better even when you’re tired. My job has been to increase the frequency and maintain a high position,” says Persson when Langd.se met him in Östersund, Sweden.

The interview with Persson was done between the two Grand Classic events, Marcialonga and Jizerská50.

“I have taken a quieter day after Marcialonga to “start from scratch” and start working towards Vasaloppet. There may be a slightly worse result in Jizerská or Orsa (the two competitions on the weekend of February 18-19), but it is all about finding the right form for Vasaloppet,” says Persson.

Does that mean you won’t be worried if you come twelfth in Jizerská50?

“In that case, it’s about how I become number twelve. You can be number twelve with a good body and number twelve with a bad body. I always want to win when I stand on the starting line, and that will also be the case on Sunday.”

How does your training specifically change for Vasaloppet?

“The big change is that I am extending certain sessions by an extra hour. Vasaloppet lasts one hour longer than all other races, so it is important to prepare to have a little extra for the last hour. At the same time, it’s not about making big changes. What I have done so far has been good,” says Persson, who has performed well in Vasaloppet several times.

Eleven months ago, Persson became second behind Andreas Nygaard, Team Ragde Charge.

Now the sights are set on taking the first Swedish men’s victory in Vasaloppet since Jörgen Brink in 2012. 

At lunchtime on March 5, we will know whether the Norwegian dominance will be broken or if it’s again a Swedish skier crossing first at the Vasaloppet finishing portal in Mora, Sweden.

The upcoming Ski Classics Pro Tour event is Jizerská50, a 50km classic technique event in the Czech Republic on February 12.

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, 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 information about the Ski Classics Pro Tour you can find at skiclassics.com.

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