“Working together as a team both before and during the season is something that really motivates me,” says Gjerde Alnæs to Langd.se.

The new athlete for Team Engcon has had a string of good results in Ski Classics in recent years. During Season XIV, the then Team Ragde Charge skier finished second at Marcialonga and won the Sprint bib overall in an impressive way.

Some illnesses disrupted last season, but she returned and performed at a high level in several races, being seven times among the top six. Her best result was a double second place at Orsa Grönklitt.

On Monday, Anikken Gjerde Alnæs was presented together with Vasaloppet winner Torleif Syrstad as new athletes for Team Engcon.

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“This was an opportunity that came up and felt right. Ski Classics is all about the team, specifically the women’s team. We are a strong women’s team that will be able to work together both before and then, of course, during the season. We also have a strong men’s team from which we will get a good match in training,” says Gjerde Alnes, who finished seventh overall in Ski Classics Season XV.

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Team Engcon’s women’s team thus consists of last season’s sixth-place overall Hanna Lodin, seventh-place Gjerde Alnæs, and eight place Ida Dahl (who had an illness-filled season but who won Ski Classics overall the season before).

Have you already talked about roles in the team?

“Not so much yet. And I take the role that I get. But we are skiers with different strengths, and I believe a lot in helping each other to have the best possible “journey” in the races and working together to get a skier on top of the podium. And that teamwork is becoming an increasingly important part of Ski Classics on the women’s side, which I really like,” says Gjerde Alnæs.

How do you look at your season last year?

“It was really highs and lows. I was on my way to the best shape ever for Vasaloppet, but then I got sick. And that really lit a spark, and I want to stand there with that top form. Then, it was a season where I had some trouble with illnesses, but I’m happy with the way I came back after each time I was away. So, I think I’ll be doing a lot of the same training-wise, but then it’s about making sure not to tip over. To do everything to stay healthy.”

What will be the main goal this winter?

“As it feels now, I want to “point out” some special races that I aim extra at. Then, the idea is that I will aim for green (the Sprint bib). If I hadn’t been so sick last year, I absolutely think I could have kept it. But you must be at the start, too. Regarding specific races, I would say that Marcialonga and Jizerská50 are the races that should suit me best. And then, perhaps most of all, Jizerská50. The reason? It’s a bit shorter, the hills are not that long, and not too steep. It’s something that suits me,” concludes Anikken Gjerde Alnæs.

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