“It’s nice to see progress in something. For me, it has been difficult to know what to do to take the next step in traditional cross-country skiing,” says Silje Øyre Slind to Langrenn.com about her transition from traditional cross-country skiing to the long-distance Pro Tour circuit.

Many Advantages

Øyre Slind became part of Team Aker Dæhlie, a Pro Tour Team, this spring. She is now on the same team as her twin sister, Astrid Øyre Slind, who has been a familiar face in Ski Classics for the past six seasons.

Silje Øyre Slind has, among other results, ten medals from the Norwegian National Championships and a couple of podium places from the World Cup during the Olympic trials in Pyeongchang in 2017 in the sprint and team sprint. The Norwegian athlete is also not wholly unknown in Ski Classics. In 2017, she came 11th at Birkebeinerrennet. In 2018 at Marcialonga, she was 4th and got the same result in La Diagonela last season.

When Øyre Slind was asked why she chose to switch to long-distance skiing, the answer was clear, predictability:

“It’s nice to know what to do. You are on a team, and everyone contributes. You know what competition you have to deal with. At the same time, you avoid the selection process you have to go through in traditional cross-country skiing,” says Silje and continues:

“It’s fun to try something new, to challenge yourself.”

Low Expectations

And that’s what the Team Aker Dæhlie athlete got last weekend. The opening weekend competitions in Bad Gastein were the first ski races of the season. The plan was to start at the season premiere at Beitostølen, but a prolonged cold ended that. Before the weekend, expectations were, therefore, low.

“I trained with Astrid in Mallorca, and then she was in quite a lot better shape than me. So, I hope it will be a little better now.”

With the races in Bad Gastein, she got a slight clue of the shape.

At the Bad Gastein Pro Team Tempo, she started with Guro Jordheim. With good teamwork, they went into finishing with the second-best time among the women in the race. With the men’s results, it was also second place in the competition in the end.

During Sunday’s race, she ended up in seventh place – almost two minutes behind the winner, Ida Dahl:

“It was a struggle. Next weekend, I hope that I will improve my strength. I was in the position I needed to be in if I was going to win, but I wasn’t strong enough. Now I hope the form will improve over the winter,” said Øyre Slind after Sunday’s race.

Looking Forward To The Big Events

What are your main goals for the season?

“I think it is difficult to set any goals. It’s completely new to me. But it is clear that Marcialonga, Birken, Vasaloppet, and La Diagonela are big races I want to perform in,” says Øyre Slind and continues:

“In any case, I have plans to go all the way and to be there regularly.”

Have you received any tips from Astrid about long-distance skiing?

“There have been some tips about technique, and of course, she has all the experience, so there will probably be more tips during the season. One useful tip is about nutrition during competitions. It’s completely new to me,” said Øyre Slind during the press conference before this weekend’s Ski Classics La Venosta Criterium.

Next up in the Ski Classics Season XIV is La Venosta Criterium, a 36km classic technique event, in Italy on December 17, 2022. 

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, 40km 
• Event 4: January 14, 2023 – Pustertaler Ski Marathon, Sexten, Italy, 62km
• Event 5: January 15, 2023 – Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge, Niederdorf, Italy, 30km
• Event 6: January 21, 2023 – Engadin La Diagonela, Engadin Valley, Switzerland, 55km 
• 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 info about the Ski Classics Pro Tour you can find at skiclassics.com.

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