Remi, who represents the Imatran ski club, trains 1200 hours a year, and his busiest weekly hours are in the fifties. This dryland season’s training has gone according to plan, apart from a brief Covid infection, and the Ramsau camp also went well, mainly due to aerobic training. In this phone interview with Maastohiihto.com Remi seemed to be in a good mood after his stay at the camp.

“It’s been twenty degrees here, and there are many different national teams here, from Austria, Poland and Italy. The roller skiing track is good, and there are some challenging tracks. You can get some good training in when you can’t get to the glacier because of the bad weather conditions,” Remi says over the phone.

You can read about Remi’s training in our next article, as this one doesn’t focus on the training methods but on the man outside the training sessions. This is the story of a man who knows what he wants but doesn’t necessarily know how yet. This man is not a man of few words, but he is not a parrot who can talk. Good things come from careful consideration, and the man, who is a non-commissioned officer in the Kainuu Brigade, has the right background.

“I go to work there occasionally when I have a lighter workout. I can arrange my working hours well, and it’s a good thing when I don’t have to be at work too much. The main thing is to represent Finland in the winter. The job started last January, and I still have a couple of years left, so it’s a three-year contract.”

On the equipment side, Remi has no changes planned, so he will continue skiing with Salomon skis and Leki poles. While in Ramsau, he also visited the Salomon factory to see how the skis are made, together with Johanna Matintalo.

In search of a broad-mindedness

The skier is known for his brash and sharp comments and is often called ‘Rokki-Rem.’ When reflecting on his own character, Remi thinks for a long time but eventually admits to being determined and tenacious without wanting to sound too self-important.

“Maybe I should be a bit more open-minded and admit I’m not always right about what I should do. I should learn to trust other people’s opinions. Santtu (Remi’s coach, Santeri Erola) is good at challenging me and can talk me into things when needed. I like to talk openly during training.”

The life of a traveler

The ski racer, who trains avidly, doesn’t have too much free time, but at the camp, he spends his rest time browsing TikTok and discussing his training. Remi has no taste for reading, but he has watched the Beck and Wallander films. Otherwise, the 25-year-old skier has not yet been inspired by the overflow of streaming services to watch series or films at home or on the road.

When it comes to the life of a traveling man, Remi admits to enjoying it. Still, during the training season, he prefers to be in a fixed place so that unnecessary training days are not spent traveling and idly wandering around airports. In winter, of course, it’s nice to see the world, which is one of the privileges of the sport. And if you miss me on the road, you can always call your mother at home.

“I just spoke to my mum on the phone yesterday. But in this day and age, it’s pretty easy to communicate with people even when you’re not in the same room. Maybe it’s a bit annoying that I’m coaching my little brother Kent, and I don’t get to see so much of his training. It would be nice to see his development with my own eyes. He is 14 years old and in the eighth grade and wants to be a skier, but of course, it’s up to him to decide. There are other good sports, and he also plays football.”

Favorite spots

Remi says his younger brother is coming to Vuokatti for a week’s camp with his older brother at the beginning of next month. The plan is for both to ski the Kainuu Winter Games, a World Cup selection race. Remi will not be able to attend the traditional early-season ski race in Olos due to military obligations. However, there will be plenty of starts before the Ruka World Cup, and the national team skier will have three races before the start of the actual international race season.

Speaking of the races, Remi says that Finland has good race venues and conditions for ski training. Familiar training and race venues also make it easier to plan your training. Among his favorite venues, he mentions Ruka and Lahti in Finland and Falun and Davos abroad.

“Those places have nice skiing areas where you can ski with a pretty technique. You can ‘dance’ on skis, and there are no steep hills. They’re those easy, skiable tracks, not tough. Of course, they are quite easy compared to the tracks of Central Europe. It’s easier to go to World Cup races now, having skied them before. You know the tracks and the tactics beforehand.”

Goals for the season

When thinking about his goals, Remi admits that he wants to become a regular in the World Cup top 10 and achieve the same overall. He is also interested in the North American World Cup races next winter if he has done well enough by then. If not, it’s better to stay on the old continent and concentrate on the races on this side of the ocean.

“If you’re doing all the races in the wrong way, you might not need to go on the tour to the US. After that comes the Nordic tour, Lahti, Holmenkollen and Falun. But those are three good weekends. But if you are still in a good position in the overall Cup, it’s worth going there.”

The phone conversation turns to the future of cross-country skiing and Remi’s voice gets a little tougher. The FIS measures don’t get top marks, and the sharp sword of the skier’s criticism is sharply drawn as we discuss the latest changes in skiing. The shortening of the distances for men and the continued restriction of double poling does not please the skier.

“I’m so grateful I got to ski one year of decent men’s distances in the 2022 Olympics. Now, it’s more sprint oriented. It’s not the best decision for me. I feel that sometimes there is no logic in the FIS decisions, and they could be made with a bit more perspective. It seems that the distances change every year, and you don’t know which distance to train for. But now I think the distances are clear until the next Olympics.”

Ski career until middle age

Despite recent decisions by the FIS, Remi’s motivation is not waning, and he is still doing the same amount of work as before. He has no real main race and is also interested in long-distance skiing and the Ski Classics. Remi also thinks that the 50km distance can be maintained in the World Championships but that it should be accompanied by a longer distance, such as 100km.

“I’m kind of dreaming of three more Olympics and then, if I can, Ski Classics for another ten years. I thought I’d dedicate my life to skiing, but you never know. If I did the three Olympics and then ten more years of Ski Classics, I’d be 46. I will do Ski Classics for ten years, but I haven’t told my girlfriend about my plans yet.” Remi reflects on his future life path.

It remains to be seen whether the future skiing hero will be able to push himself to the brink of a mid-life crisis, but at least for the moment, the young athlete is full of enthusiasm. The upcoming three-event streak will show how high Remi rises on the cross-country skiing ranking scale and whether World Cup and Olympic medals will hang around his neck.

The prospects for a rise to the top are there, and at least it won’t depend on his head. He has the guts and the will to win, qualities that have brought many skiing heroes of the past into the limelight and made them role models for the whole nation. The road to the top of the world is certainly a long and rocky one, but believing in himself and trusting in his chosen path, the glory will indeed sing for Remi sooner or later.

Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more.