“It has been a promising start to the season,” says Torleif Syrstad to Langrenn.com. 

Before the season restarts next weekend, the Norwegian Pro Tour athlete is in 6th place overall in the Ski Classics Season XIV after good performances in both Bad Gastein Criterium and La Venosta Criterium.

Last season the 28-year-old finished in 27th place in the Champion bib competition, and the season before, in 24th position. The tide has turned, and Syrstad is one of the outsiders for the remaining part of the season.

“The body responds the way I want it to. None of the races before Christmas were ‘great’, but none were a complete failure either. Nevertheless, there was one mistake that I made during La Venosta that I regret,” says Syrstad and continues:

“I was inattentive with the nutrition. It means I couldn’t keep up in the sprint at the end. A lot of it was due to my carelessness in getting enough fluid, but several people broke poles, and there was a lot of chaos. It’s too bad and something I’m not very happy with.”

In the end, Syrstad finished in the 9th position. 

New Team 

Before the Winter Season started, Torleif Syrstad changed Pro Team from Team Koteng Eidissen to Lager 157 Ski Team and has no regrets.

“You are always a little excited when you change teams. Nevertheless, it has exceeded all expectations. It is well organized, and there are eager and skilled people in the team.”

Does it give you the confidence to see that teammate Emil Persson is supreme and leads the Yellow bib competition?

 “Yes, of course. It is very reassuring to see that Emil is the best right now. I’m based in Trondheim, so I haven’t trained that much with the others in the team daily, but we have one meeting per month.”

Syrstad also praises both the new team and especially Emil Persson. Because being on a team with such a good athlete can also cause disadvantages in bringing out the best.

“Emil wants everyone to be at the top and join in and fight for the top positions. We will play well, and I have a free role there. We will, of course, work together, but I have given away enough poles during my career.”

A Lot Of Work

Syrstad is currently in his last year as a physiotherapy student at NTNU. It has been a few long and sometimes demanding years to get things going in terms of logistics:

“It’s nice to study, but I don’t know if I would recommend the combination I’ve made. There is a lot of practice and little flexibility about the dedication to skiing. There has, at times, been a lot of work to make good adjustments.”

Torleif is completing his bachelor’s degree as a part-time student, and by the spring, when he finishes, he will have spent seven years studying.

When the 28-year-old is not together with Lager 157 Ski Team, he says that most of the training is done on his own in Trondheim. But he has a good training partner in the former cross-country skier and fellow student, Jørgen Ulvang.

“Jørgen is my training partner in Trondheim, and he helps me with training. The day he gave up being a skier, he went full-on into his studies. He spends a lot of time supporting me, his girlfriend Ane (Appelkvist Stenseth), and Andrew Musgrave.

The Season’s Big Goal

After a short Christmas break, the rest of the Ski Classics season starts again next weekend. Then the biggest races follow, and Syrstad has no doubts about what the year’s biggest goal is:

“The goal is victory at Vasaloppet. I was on the podium there in both 2019 and 2020. Then it was very tough conditions and a long race time. It suits me well. I’m not as good at the fast conditions as last season.”

In 2020, when Systad finished in third place, the race time was 4:25.57. Last year, the race time was cut by almost one hour, with just over three and a half hours. Now we can only hope for heavy and challenging conditions for the Pro Tour athlete.

“In any case, I want to get on the podium. Throughout the summer and autumn, I have seen Emil’s (Persson) level not so different from mine. I hope to take a further step up and then be close to victory.

Read More – Torleif Syrstad: “I Think About Vasaloppet In Almost Every Training Session”

What have you worked on before this year’s season to become a better skier?

“I have to improve in other areas as well, but I have been working a lot with double poling uphill. I’ve had trouble following on the toughest hills before. We have put in regular sessions to work on it. Now I see that I have taken steps in technique and capacity.”

Next weekend, Ski Classics restarts with Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge and Pustertaler Ski Marathon. The races will give the skier an answer as to whether his uphill abilities have improved.

“I am looking forward to all the races that are coming now. All will suit me well. Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge will be very exciting and will give me answers on whether I have improved on the climbs.”

The Season XIV of Ski Classics Pro Tour consists 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, 40km 
• Event 4: January 14, 2023 – Pustertaler Ski Marathon, Sexten, Italy, 62km
• Event 5: January 15, 2023 – Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge, Niederdorf, Italy, 30km
• Event 6: January 21, 2023 – Engadin La Diagonela, Engadin Valley, Switzerland, 55km 
• 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 info about the Ski Classics Pro Tour you can find at skiclassics.com.

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