“The victories bring great calm. I don’t have to chase or stress out anything,” says the Lager 157 Ski Team athlete Emil Persson.

On April 9, 2022, Emil Persson began his winning streak in Ski Classics. That was a snowy day in northern Finland as the Lager 157 Ski Team skier sprinted to win the season finale in Ylläs-Levi.

Since then, he has not been defeated in Ski Classics (in individual races, as this season started with a Pro Team tempo won by Team Engcon).

After a tough day for Persson at the Pro Team Tempo in Bad Gastein, the Swedish Pro Tour athlete grabbed a convincing victory at Bad Gastein Criterium the day after and another win at La Venosta Criterium in mid-December.

Last weekend he won both Pustertaler Ski Marathon and the Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge:

“I had felt that the body responded well, and the victories before Christmas gave me good confidence before the competitions in Toblach. It means I can ski relaxed and enjoy competing,” says Persson.

Which areas have you developed the most from last season?

“My uphill. I have focused a lot on it this summer and developed that part. I am proud that I succeeded. The explanation lies primarily in a slightly increased VO2-max capacity, and that’s how I developed my strength. Technically speaking, I haven’t made any major changes,” says Persson, who, in addition to an apparent lead in the fight for the Champion competition overall (Persson leads the Yellow bib competition with a margin of 399 points), also leads the Climb competition:

“Yellow is the most important, but I also want to fight for the Climb bib. I will fight for points there, too,” says Emil Persson in a pre-event interview earlier this week.

Read More: Engadin La Diagonela Pre-Event Interviews

Tomorrow it’s time for the next event in the Ski Classics Pro Tour: Engadin La Diagonela, and Emil Persson brings good confidence to the start.

“It’s clear that the start to the season I’ve had gave me great peace of mind for the rest of the season. Last year I was not in good shape at all in January. Then it’s easy for you to stress and chase and not know where you’re going. Now I am confident that I am in good shape.” 

What will be decisive in Saturday’s race?

“It’s a fun race and a nice course. I expect it will be a busy start, but then it will calm down a bit. Then it will be decided on the last ten kilometers, which are intense with many ups and downs, and as always, it is important to be strong in the last kilometers. It’s not the toughest course, but the fact that we are at high altitude creates challenges,” concludes Emil Persson, who is the man to beat in Saturday’s Engadin La Diagonela.

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.

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