The Spanish region of Catalunya is home to some of the best skiing destinations in Spain, like Baqueira-Beret, where the famous Marxa Beret takes place. It is also home to one of the best Spanish cross-country skiers who, over the last years, have focused on Visma Ski Classics events. 

Sadurni Betriu Boix, who races for Team Internorm-Trentino-Zorzi Max by SZ, shares his happiness and pride for being the only Catalan long-distance skier competing at such a high level.

“I feel so happy to race again at the Visma Ski Classics events. I feel proud that I am the only Catalan racing all over Europe in these long-distance skiing events”, Sadurni says to ProXCskiing.

Sadurni lives close to Andorra, so he takes advantage of the training conditions he finds there. From altitude training to extreme uphill sessions, Sadurni feels that the region where he lives is perfect for his needs. And despite there are not many skiers there, he always finds some friendly groups to train with. When Sadurni wants to go cycling, a competitive group is to join there. When he wants to go mountain running, he joins another group. And last summer, when the training program called for a rollerskiing session, the athlete joined Irineu Esteve Altamiras.

“I had a wonderful summer doing base training. I did many running and cycling sessions and spent a lot of time at the gym doing strength workouts. I also spent a lot of time training with one of the best skiers in the World Cup, Irineu Esteve Altamiras. He is now performing at a topc10 level, so I feel confident after training with him at the Pyrenees”, says Sadurni.

Team Internorm-Trentino-Zorzi Max’s long-distance skiers are in their best shape ever

Sadurni also spent some time training with his Pro Team in Val di Fiemme, mostly doing long rollerski sessions up to 120 kilometers. One of the goals for the current season is to help his Team Internorm-Trentino-Zorzi Max by SZ, to win the title of best Italian Pro Team for the second year in a row. Other than that, Sadurni tells his personal goals to ProXCskiing:

“The most important thing for me is to enjoy and have fun while racing at the wonderful Visma Ski Classics events, side by side with some of the world’s best cross-country skiers. And a very special ambition is to improve my result at Marcialonga, which is the most special event for me”.

The Spanish long-distance skier believes his teammates are stronger than ever, especially Mauro Brigadoi, who was last season’s best Italian athlete, and Francesco Ferrari. They might get impressive results in the current season.

Cross-Country skiing is becoming more popular in Spain

Spain is well-known for its summer training conditions, but most people don’t know that it also has great locations for winter training. From over 3000 meters altitude in Sierra Nevada to the Pyrenees, there are several ski resorts where it is possible to enjoy excellent tracks.

Sadurni says that every year there are more and more people going to the ski resorts to enjoy cross-country skiing and beautiful landscapes. However, he feels that there is not enough investment to promote the sport.

“There should be more top competitors because we have excellent conditions for training. Unfortunately, there is not enough funding for our athletes to perform at their best level”, says Sadurni.

This season, Sadurni will not be the only Spanish long-distance skier. Marta Cester, another Spanish athlete, will also compete in the Visma Ski Classics with Norway’s Team Coop.