Today we present the favorites in the Youth competition for Season XI. The Pink Youth bib is worn by the best male and female athlete of age 26 or below.  The athlete’s age is determined by the year when the Visma Ski Classics final of the season takes place. Points in the Champion competition is…

Today we present the favorites in the Youth competition for Season XI. The Pink Youth bib is worn by the best male and female athlete of age 26 or below. 
The athlete’s age is determined by the year when the Visma Ski Classics final of the season takes place. Points in the Champion competition is used. 

WOMEN – YOUTH BIB FAVORITES

1. Ida Dahl – Team Ramudden
What an amazing first full season in Visma Ski Classics. With a seventh place overall and a landslide victory in the youth category, we could have put her on the list both for the yellow bib and the pink bib. Born 1996, she still has two more years in the pink category. Who could beat the Swede that finished fourth in Kaiser Maximilian Lauf, Marcialonga and Vasaloppet?

2. Jenny Larsson – Team Ramudden
Just like her compatriot Dahl, Jenny Larsson is born in 1996 and is racing for Team Ramudden. Larsson finished top 10 in several events in her first season on the circuit and a good guess is that she will continue to develop as a long distance skier.

3. Anastasia Rygalina – Russian Winter Team
With only five Visma Ski Classics races all together, the Russian Anastasia Rygalina born in 1996 has a lot more experience to acquire. In the first two events, she beat both Dahl and Larsson, so if she will be more consistent throughout the season, Rygalina can win the pink bib.

MEN – YOUTH BIB FAVORITES

1. Max Novak – Team Ramudden
Do you remember the Individual Prologue in Livigno? Max Novak was eager to show that he had trained during the summer and sprinted for both sprint and climb points. When we summed up the season, we found the Swede with the pink bib, almost with the sprint bib (he lost it in the last race) and eight place overall. Born in 1996, he has two more years among the youngsters.

2. Emil Persson – Lager 157 Ski Team
When Emil Persson from Sweden won the Individual Prologue some said that any skier on the tour with a sharp finish could win a short and fast race. Those people were quiet when he six weeks later won on a challenging 60 km course. Persson tends to scatter his results, which he also has done this summer. That could prevent him to win the pink in his last year as youth skier.

3. Herman Paus – Team Ramudden
The Norwegian Herman Paus has never been top 60 in a Visma Ski Classics event. But you need to consider that he was in 390th place in Birkebeinerrennet as late as in 2018. This young man born in 2000 has an interesting future. In an uphill race on rollerskis during fall he beat Andreas Nygaard, Stian Hoelgaard and Joar Thele.