At the Grönklitt weekend, Persson won Saturday’s Criterium race, a 50km mass start event, and Sunday’s 15km Individual Time Trial. On Saturday, he won the race despite a minor incident:

“I fell in a curve; I stepped on my skis when I was going to turn and was down on my butt for maybe a second or two. I didn’t lose much from it, only 2-3 positions, but you get nervous when that happens,” says Emil. 

With the wins, Emil Persson is the most successful men’s skier in Ski Classics, only beaten by Britta Johansson Norgren. That he has already reached this feat at a young age feels excellent and a little surprising to him.

“It felt like an ocean to win 17 races when I started skiing in Ski Classics, and now, I’m suddenly there. I didn’t think I would get there already this year,” says Persson during a pre-Vasaloppet interview earlier this week.

Watch Here – Vasaloppet: Pre-Event Interviews Live On SC YouTube 

However, Persson still needs to succeed in his big goal of winning Vasaloppet. A dream for many, and so also for Emil.

“Vasaloppet is actually what I was aiming for all the time, but now it has also gone very well the whole season, which is fun,” says Emil and continues:

“Taking back the yellow leader’s bib and winning Vasaloppet were the goals for the season. It has been on the mind throughout the training year.” 

Although he seems almost unbeatable at the moment, Emil believes that nearly everything has to be a little better for him to be the first to cross the finish line in Mora.

“I have to be a little stronger, a little better in every part of the race. It is important to have better form, tactics, and perfect skis.”

The training plan is the same as the previous year, and he has not changed the plan.

“The body felt quite good after the races in Orsa, actually better than after Jizerská. I took a day off before I started training again. Since then, I have mostly skied longer sessions and tried to find a balance in training,” he says and adds:

“There have only been two interval sessions lately. Now it’s mostly about finding a good feeling in the body and on the skis.”

Many Strong Competitors

But Emil Persson is not the only one hoping to stand with the Vasaloppet wreath around his neck in Mora on Sunday. Many of the main competitors also have Vasaloppet as their season’s primary goal.

“There are many strong skiers. Nygaard, of course, Northug also looks stronger and stronger; Max (Novak) was on the podium last time. But I probably still see Andreas Nygaard as my main challenger, he knows how to win,” says Emil.

Emil believes the key to winning Vasaloppet, in addition to the form and skis, is good cooperation within the team and having his teammates with him all the way to Mora. 

Kasper Stadaas, the only one besides Emil to win this season, and Andreas Nygaard, both from Team Ragde Charge, also have Vasaloppet as their primary goal this season. When asked if many strong skiers with individual ambitions can split Team Ragde Charge, Emil answers: 

“You hope for a little split in Ragde (Charge) towards the finish of Vasaloppet; that would probably have been to my advantage. But we’ll see; they might have made a plan for the race.”

Emil believes this year’s Vasaloppet will have similar characteristics as last year’s.

“It will probably be high-speed from the start, just like in previous years. Some are strong without having a good sprint and have to come up with something early.”

Will there be a Swedish win this year?
“It is about time we take the victory back to Sweden; Norway has won for too many years now.”

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, 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.