Emilie is certainly one of the top names in Visma Ski Classics since her worst position in a Pro Tour stage is 9^th. She is always fighting for podium places but winning a race has still eluded her. She has been close a couple of times, and she thinks that Årefjällsloppet, last season’s finale, was her best chance to claim the much-coveted victory.

“I think I was really close to being number one at Årefjällsloppet, and I felt really good during the race. Looking back, I assume that I just wasn’t strong enough or smart enough. But last season, I learned a lot about myself and how to race. So, I’m really satisfied with my results even if I didn’t get a victory in any of the races. I did my best in every single race, and I’m happy with that,” Emilie says about her performance last season.

Emilie also admits that she became more confident as the season progressed. She learned a few tricks, and she thinks that she is now better equipped to fight for the top position. She also realized that she has to come up with her own strategy and rely on her strengths when going to a head-to-head battle with the best skiers in the field. She also acknowledges the fact that she is still quite inexperienced in long distance skiing, and many races are quite new to her. She feels that she has gained a lot more experience after two years, and the upcoming season could be the best for her so far. She wants to win some of the big races and to fight for the yellow jersey.

Cross-country skiing in Trondheim

To make her life a bit easier, Emilie moved to Trondheim the other year, and she decided to do that because of her partner Andrew Musgrave who resides there. Andrew is an established cross-country skier representing the UK aiming to be a top skier at the upcoming Olympics. 

“We have snow here now, which we didn’t have last December. I can do a lot of good training now. Trondheim is great now, but if you had asked me a month ago, I would have said it was a bad place to live because it was rainy and the temperature was close to zero. I wasn’t enjoying living my life here. I moved here because of love. Andrew is based here, and a lot of good skiers live here. Trondheim is a good place to be for a skier. In the summertime, I don’t spend much time here as I tend to go down south for warmer weather,” Emilie describes her current hometown.

On the podcast episode, Emilie analyzes every race in Season XI and describes them in detail. She also talks about Vasaloppet and why that 90-kilometer legendary race is so challenging for her. She says that it’s not the distance per se as she was able to do well at Årefjällsloppet, which is 100 km, but there’s something about the race that she hasn’t quite figured out yet.

From traditional skiing to long distances

Emilie was a great traditional cross-country skier before joining the Visma Ski Classics family in 2019. She had just finished her best season when she got a call from Jørgen Aukland, the manager of Team Ragde Eiendom – now Team Ragde Charge, who asked if Emilie was interested in joining his team. First, she wasn’t too thrilled about the idea, but her curiosity got the better of her. She was intrigued by long distances and the mystery of double-poling. Then, she called Krokan Murud, who was the other female skier that Jørgen called, and together they decided to give it a go.

“When I moved from traditional skiing to long distance, I thought I’d be missing it a lot, but that didn’t happen. I really love Visma Ski Classics because of the atmosphere, the people, the locations, and the whole experience. In traditional skiing, you’re always trying to qualify for important races, and it’s much more stressful. In Visma Ski Classics, everyone knows what races they are going to do and how to prepare for them. There’s a more relaxed atmosphere in Visma Ski Classics even if we take things very seriously.”

On the podcast, Emilie sheds some light on the reasons for her transition to Tord Asle Gjerdalen’s team. In her first season in Visma Ski Classics, she represented the Aukland brothers’ team, then moved to Team Koteng and now she is an integral part of Team XPND Fuel.

“Of course, there’s a huge difference between a big team and a smaller one. We haven’t arranged that many training camps this year. Last year, we had many camps here in Trondheim, and I was able to see my teammates from Team Koteng, and also from Team Ragde. On the other hand, it’s also quite exciting to be in a smaller team. It’s really good for the sport to have many teams in the circus. I’m really motivated to build, together with Tord, a really a good team, which can become more than just a small team. But you have to start somewhere and work your way up.”

 Emilie Fleten’s training methods

Emilie is a firm believer in variety when it comes to her training. Naturally, she has focused on her double-poling a great deal since joining the Visma Ski Classics circuit, but that’s not the only thing she does when working out.

“In the summer, it’s very important for me not to take some time off physically but mentally. I need to have the energy to do other things than just training, but I train a lot in the summer as well. I have to enjoy life a bit more in the summer than I can in the fall and in the winter. In the summer, I mostly have easy sessions and long workouts and not so many hard intervals. I run and roller-ski a lot, I do double-poling, diagonal striding and skating. Skating is good if I want to get my training volume up. I do it probably once or twice a week. I also bought a bike this summer hoping that I could do many long and easy sessions on the road, but I got injured and had to leave my bike in the garage. I think it’s important that you don’t train the same way a year around.”

Emilie says that she generally doesn’t do really long interval sessions. The longest intervals she does are about an hour, and she includes speed training in her long aerobic double-poling workouts. She gives an example of her typical interval session, which consists of 10 five-minute intervals at her threshold with one minute recovery time. She can also break it down to a set of intervals that vary in length. 

Additionally, she reveals that she has cut down her strength training for this season as she has increased the amount of her double-poling workouts. Otherwise, it would have been too strenuous for her upper body. She tries to have two strength sessions per week focusing on maximum strength, but sometimes she only manages to do one. 

“I think it really pays off to take some days off if you feel tired or are injured or sick. For me, it’s important to train well when I train and rest well when I rest. My eating habits have also changed since I joined Visma Ski Classics. It’s really important for me to eat well and have enough energy when I do my long sessions. I recover so much better and faster if I pay a close attention to my drinking and eating when training.”

Emilie Fleten’s motto for life

Eating well has not always been easy for Emilie, and on the podcast, she talks about her eating disorder that she fought against when younger. She also recalls happier times in her childhood and how skiing has been a part of her life from the time she learned to walk. 

Additionally, she talks about her school, teenage years and how she met Andrew. As Christmas is just around the corner, Emilie also tells the podcast listeners about the importance of the holiday and what she is planning to do this Christmas. She gazes upon the future as well and concludes the podcast interview by giving an all-encompassing advice to everyone out there in the world.

“Trust yourself, trust the work you’re doing and trust the path you’re on. Life goes up and down, but you should focus on the things that are important to you.”

Orsa2Levi is out on every possible podcast platform. You can also listen to it on Pro XC Skiing and Visma Ski Classics websites.