Ville Ahonen’s last season started sluggishly but ended on a positive note. Ahonen’s previous competition season concluded with mixed feelings. Although the skier from Imatran Urheilijat found good form for the late-season races, they didn’t completely erase the early-season disappointments from his mind.

“The condition and ability to break away were not at their best early in the season. By the end of the season, I started getting more out of myself, and it began to show in the results,” he says to Maastohiihto.com.

Last season, Ahonen performed best in the standard distances. Despite focusing on sprinting for a few years, he himself cannot pinpoint why he did not reach his usual level in his specialty last winter.

“It’s a mystery to me as well. Even in the fall, all signs pointed to sprinting improving significantly, but the only good performance came in the time trial at the Finnish Cup in Ruka.”

“On the other hand, it’s typical for me that when my condition for standard distances is good, sprinting doesn’t go as well. It would be ideal if I could get both to work simultaneously.”

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Since last winter did not go as Ahonen hoped, he knew that changes were necessary for this training season.

“I’m experienced enough to know that I always need to develop something new if I want to make progress.”

“This time, I’ve been using a more aggressive and clearer rhythm, meaning two weeks of harder training followed by one distinctly lighter week. Practically, this means I might be a bit tired for a longer period, but then there’s always a lighter week following.”

Ahonen has never been afraid to make changes in his training. He is clear that sticking to old habits is not beneficial, and experimenting with new approaches is essential for development.

He approaches new training methods with interest.

“The basic principles of skiing training don’t change, and certain things need to be done regardless. However, having done this for so long, it’s nice and interesting to do things a bit differently.”

Another change for this season is an increased focus on intensive training sessions. The idea behind this is to be better prepared for competition successes from the beginning of the season.

Ahonen notes that it’s important to be in good shape early in the season if he wants to compete in the World Cup and be part of Finland’s World Championship team.

“It might depend on a few early-season races whether you get to show additional proof or not. You need to be ready for the World Cup in Ruka already.”

With the weaker sprint results from last winter, Ahonen has decided not to emphasize sprinting as much in this season’s training as he did before. Now, the focus is evenly distributed between sprinting and standard distances.

“The early-season races will determine a lot, but the goal is to make a place in the Trondheim World Championship team. The biggest target is the classic 10 km, but there is stiff competition for that spot. It will definitely require a step forward if I want to make it.”

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