Pro Team Director Season XIV – Nominee #5 Bruno Debertolis
Summit 2 Senja on Sunday, April 2, will end Ski Classics Season XIV. Five Pro Team Directors have been nominated for the award of Best Pro Team Director of the Season.
The award recognizes Pro Team Directors with extraordinary directorial skills, unwavering dedication, and unconditional love for long-distance skiing, working correctly to develop Ski Classics.
In Season XIV, five nominees will be presented during this week. They are all in the race to win the award. Nominee #5 is Bruno Debertolis, the Pro Team Director of Team Robinson Trentino.
Bruno Debertolis is an experienced Pro Team Director widely recognized for his dedication to the sport. Bruno has built a diverse Pro Team in Team Robinson Trentino, with athletes from different nationalities, reflecting his inclusive approach. Through his steadfast commitment to the team and athletes, he has become a highly respected Pro Team Director in the long-distance skiing community.
In a recent interview, Bruno shared his thoughts on what motivates him in his role, how he wants to develop the sport, and his challenges.
Debertolis is motivated by the opportunity to promote the sport and share the passion for long-distance skiing.
“My biggest motivation is to promote our sport and share my passion. It’s an incredible feeling helping young guys and established athletes chase their dreams and goals.”
From a Pro Team perspective, the Pro Team Director aims to promote a change in mentality related to the sport in his home country.
“In Italy, changing the mentality related to skiing marathons is difficult. Many have understood that it is a great opportunity even at a young age, but there is still the thought that these races are suitable for those at the end of their career. With our work and determination, we are trying to change this mentality, also through new ideas regarding training.”
The most enjoyable part of the Pro Team Director’s job for Bruno is connecting athletes from different countries and mentalities.
“Surely, the most beautiful part is connecting the different mentalities of each athlete. Our team comprises athletes from many countries: Italy, Norway, Czech Republic, USA, Poland, and, even if at the moment stopped, Russia. Each of them is ready to share their experiences with the group but also their different thoughts about the training and the way of living every day. I am learning many things too.”
What’s the most challenging part of your job as a Pro Team Director?
“The biggest challenge is finding resources and making people understand the potential for visibility that Ski Classics gives. I have many ideas in my head for this; one step after another, I will try to develop them and carry them forward to promote our world. I need much more time, but I must make everything coincide with my normal job, another great challenge, but I’ll make it.”
Debertolis finds Ski Classics a fascinating circuit combining professional athletes with recreational skiers. However, it is also a demanding Tour that challenges Pro Team athletes and Pro Teams to work hard.
“Ski Classics is fascinating. It combines professional athletes with recreational skiers, on the same day and at the same time everyone can experience the same emotions, amazing!” and continues:
“At the same time, however, it is a very tough and demanding circuit. It puts the Pro athletes and the teams to a tough job, but all of this is stimulating and is raising the average level of the bunch year after year.”
“For this reason, I see the future with bigger Teams where many new young people can feel like Pro-athletes and have higher stimuli and goals to make their level grow even further. Teams like cycling thus creating a turnover by recruiting interesting athletes from every continent, creating a sort of autonomous branches but with the same name, expanding the “Challengers Circuit.” Let’s imagine, for example, Lager 157 Ski Team Germany, Team Ragde Charge Italia, or Team Aker Dæhlie France. An incredible combination and stimulus between main sponsors and local sponsors.”
“Compared with cycling, it could be quite a challenge to think of Multistage Tours, even in pairs like MTB (for example, Cape Epic). Reistadløpet and Summit 2 Senja as a season finale is a great idea. Perhaps all this is utopia, but to do great things, you have to think big.”
According to the Pro Team Director, the biggest challenge for the future is economical.
“Outside Scandinavia, it is difficult to recruit economic resources for long-distance skiing, which limits the possibility of raising promising young people who must combine everyday work with training. There is incredible human potential out there, from the United States to the Alps via Eastern Europe. In my opinion, the biggest challenge for the future of Ski Classics is to try to have all the national “flags” of now and, if possible, to increase them to become more and more a World Championships of Long-Distance Skiing.”
Bruno Debertolis has had a season with good results and has shared some of his best moments.
“Luckily, this season has been full of really good results. We have won many races with our Italian youngsters and with Justyna Kowalczyk, national and international marathons. Still, there were also very good results in the Ski Classics; perhaps it was here that I felt the greatest emotion this season. Patrick (Fossum Kristoffersen) 4th place at the Grönklitt Individual Time Trial, completely unexpected.”
Next up is Reistadløpet on April 1 and Summit 2 Senja on April 2. The events mark the 13th and 14th Ski Classics stages and the final weekend of Season XIV.
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, Bedřichov, Czech Republic, 50km
- Event 9: February 18, 2023 – Grönklitt Criterium, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 50km
- Event 10: February 19, 2023 – Grönklitt ITT, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 12km
- 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, 68km
More information about the Ski Classics Pro Tour you can find at skiclassics.com.