Team Aker Dæhlie Pro Team Competition Winner Season XIV

Team Aker Dæhlie
Team Aker Dæhlie is the winner of the Ski Classics Pro Team Competition Season XIV.
Team Aker Dæhlie is the winner of the Ski Classics Pro Team Competition Season XIV.

In Season XIV of the Ski Classics Pro Tour, the Pro Team competition presented many thrilling moments, with Team Aker Dæhlie the overall Pro Team winner.

PRO TEAM COMPETITION

The Pro Team competition is determined by the total amount of Pro Team points after the season. Pro Team points are distributed at each Pro Tour event based on the Pro Team’s collected Champion points from the Pro Team’s best two male athletes and best two female athletes, the total Sprint and Climb points collected by the athletes, and 50% of the Youth points of the best female athlete and best male athlete.

In the Ski Classics Pro Team competition Season XIV, Team Aker Dæhlie secured the lead overall in the Pro Team Competition with 2310 points, followed by Lager 157 Ski Team in second with 2220 points and Team Ramudden in third, with 2205 points overall.

Top 3 Pro Team Competition – All Results Ski Classics Season XIV

POINTSPro Team – 1st Pro Team – 2nd Pro Team – 3rd
Pro Tour EventTeam Aker DæhlieLager 157 Ski TeamTeam Ramudden
Pro Team Tempo180120160
Bad Gastein Criterium160200180
La Venosta Criterium180160140
Pustertaler Ski Marathon100160180
Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge160180200
La Diagonela200140180
Marcialonga90160140
Jizerská50120180160
Grönklitt Criterium140180140
Grönklitt ITT200160180
Vasaloppet200160140
Birkebeinerrennet20016085
Reistadløpet180140160
Summit 2 Senja100120160
TOTAL231022202205


Top 10 Pro Team – Ski Classics Season XIV

Team Aker Dæhlie was launched in June 2022. During the team’s first season, the 37 athletes from long-distance, traditional, and para cross-country skiing have delivered a track record worthy of a national team.

They won medals in three out of four World Championships, with two medals from the World Ski Championships, two medals from the Para World Championships, and a medal in the Junior and U23 World Championships. They also took the overall victory in the U23 Cross-Country World Cup 2022/23 for women, the Rollerski World Cup for men and the Norwegian distance championships for men, several podium places, and several top-10 positions in the World Cup, Norwegian National Championships gold, several victories in Ski Classics and the Pro Team Competition Season XIV. 

Langrenn.com chatted with the general manager of Team Aker Dæhlie Knut Nystad about the first season and the success factors behind the team. 

“I am very happy that we have succeeded so well this winter, but of course, I dream of taking a step further. We established the team in June and didn’t get started until August,” says the 52-year-old, previously the head of waxing for the Norwegian cross-country national team. 

What does it mean for Team Aker Dæhlie that you get so many good results in the team’s first season?  

“We are incredibly proud of our athletes who have won medals in championships and delivered good results. We are equally proud of the team members who have assisted along the way. Creating results and great achievements is teamwork, even if the athletes mostly must manage alone with starting numbers from start to finish. When the snow melts, the results allow us to build on it. We constantly have to challenge, explore and further develop,” says Nystad. 

“Team Aker Dæhlie wants to position itself as an inclusive team that goes ahead and creates results and achievements through action. In that way, our first season can be the start of good cooperation with athletes, coaches, managers, and partners who share the dream of further developing the sport of cross-country skiing we are all excited about. We don’t have all the answers, but we are curious and are already looking forward to coming starting next season.”

What is the key to a successful start? 

“We must be honest enough to say we did not start from scratch. After all, we took over two very successful teams: Team Telemark in traditional cross-country skiing and Team Koteng in long-distance skiing and built a new team around these with GB Snowsport, NextGen, and all-round efforts for para-athletes in collaboration with Beitostølen Helsesportsenter. It should be mentioned that without our partners’ unique support and cooperation, it would have been impossible to embark on this journey. But having said that, we have developed. We have laid out a strategy for Team Aker Dæhlie that is completely unique compared to other teams, both private and at the national team level, Nystad tells Langrenn.com and continues: 

“We have a team that consists of skiers, coaches, and support staff who compete in traditional and/or long-distance skiing, regardless of nationality, gender, age, or whether they are Olympic or Paralympic athletes. We want to appear as one team, and we are keen to plan for everyone, regardless of their circumstances. The key to our success is that the team comprises fantastic resource people passionate about cross-country skiing and a strong desire to improve. This, coupled with committed partners, means we can live out the dream of contributing to the positive development of a more inclusive and generous cross-country sport.”

Nystad points out that they have been ready to bring in expertise for Team Aker Dæhlie from several teams and that this competence benefits all the skiers across groups and focus areas. 

“We have a good competence team at the base, with medical follow-up, career guidance, ski service, waxing, and coaches. The various professional fields have an incredible amount of knowledge and experience. If we miss something, we are never afraid to ask others who know more. We connect knowledge, competence, and experience so that athletes, coaches, and administration can perform and develop as a team,” says Nystad, and he hopes others will look to their model. 

“There is an incredible amount we can learn from each other if we dare to admit that we do not have all the answers ourselves. By sharing knowledge and experiences, we get good development for the athletes, the trainers, the coaches, and the rest of the support apparatus. The dream is that we are copied by others so that more people get the opportunity to perform.”

The Season XIV of Ski Classics Pro Tour consisted 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, 67km

Check Reistadløpet and Summit 2 Senja race report, overall standings, and all about the Ski Classics.

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