After a two-week break, the next event on the Ski Classics Pro Tour calendar is Jizerská50. ProXCskiing evaluates the top contenders for taking the win of the second Grand Classics event of Season XIV.

The second part of the Ski Classics Season XIV starts tomorrow with Jizerská50. ProXCskiing analyzed the top Ski Classics Pro Tour athletes who can win the 56th edition of Jizerská50.

The Men’s Favorites For Jizerská50

Emil Persson – Lager 157 Ski Team

Emil Persson told at the pre-event interviews earlier this week that he is delighted with his results, especially winning Marcialonga. 

After spending one week at home in Östersund, Sweden, Emil feels recovered: 

“I haven’t focused on the training so much; it just felt like a short vacation.”

Persson believes that Jizerská50 is a challenging and fun race, with a demanding uphill at the start. 

“I have a strong team with me, so we are prepared to fight for victory.”

Emil hopes to win the Grand Slam prize, but, as he states: “every competition must be faced at each time, so we will see then if that’s possible.”

Watch Here: Jizerská50 Pre-Event Interviews

Andreas Nygaard – Team Ragde Charge

Andreas Nygaard had a good start to the season, considering that in previous years, he has been few times on the podium in this period. 

However, the Norwegian Pro Tour athlete says he always wants more.

Nygaard believes that this race suits him very well, and the truth is that he has won it three times. The reason for it is that this is the time of the season when Andreas gets in better shape. 

“The long uphills and the sprint at the finish line suit me. Good skis and good shape, that’s the secret.”

The main challenge for this season is to beat Emil Persson. 

“First and foremost, I have to be in better shape. But I think Emil has struggled a little bit in Jizerka before,” says Nygaard, hoping he can have an advantage in the Czech forests.

Morten Eide Pedersen – Team Eksjöhus

Morten Eide Pedersen has yet to reach a podium this season, but still, he is the second overall at the Yellow Champion bib competition. Being one of the most experienced skiers in the circuit, Morten Eide Pedersen consistently finishes the races around the 5th position, which gave him this good overall position.

Moreover, Morten is familiar with the course and may use his experience to try to reach the next level and get a podium, or a victory, during this season. The Norwegian athlete will not be challenging Emil Persson’s position, but he may try to be the one stopping the unbeatable Emil.

Also Read: 100 Pro Tour Events And Counting: Morten Eide Pedersen Reaches Milestone In Ski Classics

Herman Paus – Team Ramudden

Herman Paus has been having an impressive season. Like Morten Eide Pedersen, he has yet to reach any podium, but he is showing how to be a consistently strong skier. Moreover, the Norwegian skier is in the 4th position in the Champion competition, so the course of Jizerská50 may suit him well, and finally, he can reach the podium.

The Women’s Favorites For Jizerská50

Magni Smedås – Team Eksjöhus

After spending some time feeling “quite high” in life due to winning Marcialonga, Magni Smedås feels down to earth. 

“I just needed some days to get back to earth and get some Magni time,” she says during the Jizerská50 pre-event interviews. 

Despite going through a strong phase, this will be a debut at Jizerská50 for the Norwegian athlete, while her competitors already know the race.

“I have only seen the tracks on TV, so I don’t know what I will meet there, but I will just try to learn what others are doing during the race,” says Magni, while also adding that she will do her best and that her shape is still pretty good.

Moreover, Magni has been building up towards Vasaloppet, so she has been training a lot, with very long sessions. However, she hopes to feel good at Jizerská50. 

“Vasaloppet is my goal, but I hope to be good at Jizerská.”

Ida Dahl – Team Engcon

For the first time this season, Ida Dahl could not conquer the podium due to still recovering from a Covid-19 infection. Ida finished Marcialonga in the 4th position. 

“It was a hard race, just like I expected it to be. I struggled really hard the first 10-15 km; then my body felt a bit better.” 

After Marcialonga, Ida took training very easily to recover, and according to her, her body is getting better and better.

Ida won Jizerská50 in 2022, and now she hopes the Czech race will help her return to the victories. The Swedish skier believes that the most challenging part of the race will begin when the male athletes catch up with the girls. Then, the strongest skiers will try to follow along.

Ida believes that Magni Smedås will be her main competitor after such a strong performance at Marcialonga. But she also thinks that Emilie Fleten will be someone to keep an eye on.

Anikken Gjerde Alnæs- Team Ragde Charge

Jizerská50 has traditionally been the best race of the season for Anikken Gjerde Alnæs, with 6th place in 2022 and 10th place in 2021. This season, the Norwegian skier has a much stronger performance, having already conquered two podiums, with a 2nd place at Marcialonga.

Anikken has developed her long-distance capabilities and is feeling stronger this season, both mentally and physically. With a race course suited for strong skiers and good sprinters, Anikken may have an opportunity to reach her 3rd podium of the season.

Moreover, the Norwegian athlete from Team Ragde Charge aims to win a Pro Tour event, and one of the important ones. Is this her opportunity?

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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