Tour de France fever in the skiing community: Therefore, an increasing number of elite athletes swear by cycling during the dryland season.

Harald Østberg Amundsen, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Sindre Bjørnestad Skar, and national team rookie Ansgar Evensen. Biathletes Johannes Thingnes Bø, Endre Strømsheim, and Johan-Olav Botn. More and more skiing stars are using cycling as an important part of their dryland training.

Trendy to cycle

Ansgar Evensen, a rookie on the Norwegian men’s national cross-country team, says he has noticed a kind of cycling fever in the skiing community in recent years.

“It seems like cycling is a bit trendy among cross-country skiers now. It allows you to unwind and use different muscles. I’ve bought a road bike now. You get a bit farther than on roller skis,” the 24-year-old tells Langrenn.com.

The same sentiment is echoed by World Cup winner Østberg Amundsen. He also highlights long road bike rides as one of his absolute favorite workouts in the summer.

“A long ride on the bike with good friends and bakery stops, that’s one of my favorite sessions,” he says.

Biathletes have systematically used cycling as part of their dryland training for many years. Long-distance skiing has been inspired by cycling since the beginning of Ski Classics. And now, using cycling as part of dryland training is increasingly popular among elite athletes in traditional cross-country skiing.

Important resource for Klæbo

Both Klæbo and Thingnes Bø have the Norwegian pro team Uno-X Mobility as their sponsors.

For Klæbo, the cycling team is not only his biggest sponsor, but access to the team’s expertise is also crucial, and he has participated in training camps with the team.

“We have a lot in common, including our focus on innovation and development, both in terms of physical training, nutrition, and mental training,” said Johannes Høsflot Klæbo when he entered into collaboration with the Norwegian energy company.

“It could be expertise in altitude training, mental development, preparations, and much more. But it’s also exciting to be part of a professional environment outside skiing.”

There are also several Norwegian cross-country skiing talents who have transitioned to professional cycling.

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Cycling as dryland training: Gold or nonsense?

Steinar Mundal has been a coach at the national team level in cross-country skiing and biathlon in Norway and internationally for decades, having been responsible for athletes like Vibeke Skofterud, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, and Petter Northug.

He believes cycling is a valuable and positive addition to training for cross-country skiers in the dryland season.

“Cycling has had its ups and downs, but at times the national teams cycled significantly more than they do today, especially in the 1990s. With Thomas Alsgaard, Tor-Arne Hetland, Anders Aukland, and that gang, we cycled a lot. And they didn’t become bad skiers,” Mundal says.

Anders Aukland is one who still cycles a lot in his training during the summer, even though he has now retired from elite competition. And Marcialonga winner Runar Skaug Mathisen estimates that at least 30 percent of his total training volume in the summer is cycling.

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That’s why cycling is useful for skiers

Mundal points out that cycling provides excellent training benefits on several levels. He emphasizes that cycling strengthens the legs, glutes, calves, and thighs to a much greater extent than roller skiing.

“On roller skis, there’s a lot of focus on skating, so you don’t use your legs the same way as in diagonal stride in cross-country skiing. However, you do get that on a bike,” he says.

Many skiers use cycling for volume training and to add variety to their training regimen.

“When you train 25 to 30 hours a week, it can become monotonous to run and roller ski on all the long trips. Plus, it’s easier to cycle for four hours than to run for four hours. Since cycling is so gentle, you can do it for a long time and thus accumulate a lot of volume in terms of easy long-distance riding. This helps develop overall endurance,” says Mundal.

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It’s also not coincidental that many skiers are attracted to road cycling, both for tactical reasons and for the training benefits.

Mundal points out that it’s generally easier to control the intensity on the road bike and ensure it stays gentle enough to avoid muscle acidosis, and it’s easier to sustain for a long time.

“If you’re using cycling as training for cross-country skiing, you should aim to ride for three to five hours at an easy long-distance intensity. It’s best to do long sessions in rolling terrain on the road, where you can better control the intensity and avoid getting acidosis,” he says.

“Mountain biking tends to be more interval-oriented, and for hard workouts, I generally recommend more ski-specific sessions,” says Mundal.

At the same time, mountain biking has advantages over road biking.

“Mountain biking provides good balance and coordination training. Moreover, the trails in mountain biking often resemble the type of trails used in cross-country skiing in winter, and the competition format in mountain biking is more similar to skiing,” he says.

“But not everyone likes to cycle or has suitable equipment. To get sufficient training benefits from cycling, it’s important to have a good enough bike that is properly fitted. Otherwise, you won’t get enough volume out of it,” says Steinar Mundal.

In short: If you enjoy cycling, incorporate it as part of a diversified training regimen in the dryland season. However, focus on gentle rides on the bike and save the hard workouts for more specific training forms.

Are you interested in training for long-distance or traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.