After the pandemic-stricken Season XI, all Pro Teams and their athletes are eager to embrace the new season with 14 races in 12 locations. There are 35 Pro Teams and close to 300 athletes ready to fight for glory and to enjoy the perks that long distance skiing can offer. 

Norway is the country with most athletes registered for Visma Ski Classics, then comes Sweden and quite surprisingly Finland is the third nation in the list of most athletes. Then, there are athletes from the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Estonia, the United States, Spain, China, and the UK.

The Pro Tour will start next weekend in Orsa, Sweden, with Prologue events. The Orsa Grönklitt Pro Team Tempo and Orsa Grönklitt Individual Prologue are the first two races in the calendar. Then, the tour will have a holiday break and reconvene In Misurina, Italy, in January with two new races called Tre Cime Criterium and Misurina Invidivual Tempo. 

Another new event, Reschenseerennen, will take place in mid-January, and then the Pro Tour returns to the normal setting with Engadin La Diagonela, Marcialonga and Jizerska 50. In February, an old event will return to the tour in the form of Tartu Maraton in Estonia. The rest of the season is devoted to the Scandinavian classic events such as Vasaloppet, Birkebeinerrennet, Årefjällsloppet, Reistadløpet and Ylläs-Levi, which is the season finale in Finland.

The top six Pro Teams before the season start are Team Ramudden, Lager 157 Ski Team, Team Ragde Charge, Russian Winter Team, Team Koteng Eidissen and Team Mäenpää. For the first time in history, two Swedish Pro Teams are leading the pack, and the Aukland brothers’ squad is now the underdog in the game. Russian Winter Team wants to be among the top-three while Team Koteng Eidissen has Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Astrid Øyre Slind as their driving forces. Team Mäenpää has lost some good skiers, and it will be challenging for them to stay in the top-six.

In terms of the top male athletes and Champion candidates, Emil Persson from Lager 157 Ski Team will defend his victory without giving an inch, but there are strong opponents ready to dethrone him. Andreas Nygaard, Team Ragde Charge, aims to be the king of long-distance skiing again while Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Team XPND Fuel, has always been among the top-three and wants to take his third overall victory. Then, there’s Max Novak from Team Ramudden, who dominated the field in this summer & fall’s roller-ski races, and Oskar Kardin from Team Ragde Charge, who had his best season last winter. Russian Winter Team’s Ermil Vokuev always goes for victories, but he won’t be able to take part in every stage in the Pro Tour.

The women’s field gets stronger every year, and last season’s queen Lina Korsgren has to fight harder than ever to keep the Champion title. Her teammate Ida Dahl finished second last season, and she is hungry for more. Emilie Fleten, Team XPND Fuel, has not yet won a Visma Ski Classics stage, but that is her biggest goal for the upcoming season. Britta Johansson Norgren, Lager 157 Ski Team, is a five-time Champion, and she is back in shape and ready to be the number one again. Naturally, everyone’s eyes are on Marit Bjørgen, Team Ragde Charge, who finished second at Vasaloppet last winter, but she will not take part in every race, which won’t make her a favorite to win the overall competition.

Next week, on Pro XC Skiing, you can read more about the upcoming season, its favorites in every competition category and what to expect from the season. Tomorrow, you can listen to the Orsa2Levi podcast with one of the female favorites Emilie Fleten, and next Saturday, a special season overview episode will be available for your pleasure.