The Spanish skier shared his thoughts with ProXCskiing about his passion for cross-country skiing and what it takes to be a professional skier in Spain.

Skiing fans might know Spain for its training camps during summer and not for its cross-country skiers. But Imanol Rojo is one of the elite Spanish skiers who have devoted their lives to winter sports, representing Spain in international competitions like the World Cup, World Championships, and Winter Olympic Games.

Last year, during the Nordic Ski World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, Imanol had a strong performance until the finish line, competing with the world’s best skiers. 

Now, he aims to repeat this performance in Beijing: “My goal is to make a good result in the Winter Olympics. I want to fight as I did in Oberstdorf, trying to be in the top 20 or even better,” he says to ProXCskiing.

After Tour de Ski, Imanol Rojo moved to Andorra, focusing his training on the Olympic Games.

“It was a surprise for me to get two top 30 results in Tour de Ski. My training has been focused on the Olympics, so I wasn’t expecting it. Now I am training in Andorra, hoping to get ready for Beijing, and I am feeling better every day,” shares Imanol.

Rojo spends a lot of time training in Norway with other elite skiers, like the Skinstad brothers. Training with them is something that the Spanish skier feels grateful for. 

“They are like family to me” – says Imanol, telling us how he met the brothers – “They came to train in Mar de Pulpi in the hot region of Almeria (Spain), and I had the chance to meet them there. Before that, I raced with them in Praz de Lys in 2009 and one long-distance race in Italy. Now they help me a lot with training.”

The Challenges Of Being A Cross-Country Skier In Spain

Imanol Rojo started cross-country skiing due to his parents’ immense love for the mountains and cross-country skiing. 

After being introduced to the world of Nordic skiing, Imanol and his brother became hooked. They started to compete in some Alpen Cup and FIS races, having the privilege of traveling to some of the best European cross-country skiing destinations.

But it is not easy to be a cross-country skier in Spain. The country is not known for its winter sports athletes.

“It’s difficult because people don’t know this sport. But the truth is that Spain has some outstanding resorts to practice cross-country skiing, with very high mountains. Unfortunately, we do not have much snow.” 

“Because people do not follow winter sports, it is not easy to find sponsors. But fortunately, I was born in the Basque Country, and I can find some funding for my projects,” shares Imanol.

But the engagement with cross-country skiing is increasing nowadays. Imanol believes that the Spanish Winter Sports Federation is doing an excellent job attracting more young people to the sports.

“I think my results also help to attract more young athletes to cross-country skiing,” he concludes.

Imanol wants to continue following his passion and keep doing cross-country skiing at an elite level. And one day, when he stops competing, he hopes to keep working with sports.

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FACTS: 2022 OLYMPICS 

Where: Beijing, China
When: February 4 to 20, 2022
What: Olympic Winter Games
Beijing 2022 – All you need to know 
What happens when: 
Complete schedule for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, all sports. 
Who: 53 cross-country teams compete at the 2022 Olympics, each fielding from 1 to 16 athletes. 
All the cross-country ski teams to the Beijing Winter Olympics