After a summer of hard training, Russian long-distance skiers showed that they are in good shape at the beginning of the season, with ambitions to fight for top positions in the Pro Tour.

Russian Winter Team athletes had their first cross-country ski race this season, in the city of Kirovsk, close to Murmansk. The Khibinskaya Race marked the official start of the winter season in Russia, and many strong athletes from the country were on the starting line.

Russian Winter Team has many reasons to be happy with their start of the season. On the women’s side, the long-distance skier Olga Tsareva, whose best result last season was 5^th at Marcialonga, won the 5-kilometer classic race, finishing ahead of athletes like Natalia Matveeva and Svetlana Nikolaeva.

On the men’s side, the Russian Winter Team’s long distance-skiers Alexander Grebenko and Alexey Shemiakin finished the race in the 1^st and 2^nd positions, respectively. Grebenko’s best result was 7^th at La Venosta last season, while Shemiakin’s best result was 3^rd at La Diagonela.

Andrey Tyuterev, Russian Winter Team Director, is pleased with the results that his team achieved in the Khibinskaya race. In a call with Pro XC Skiing, Andrey says that he is feeling optimistic about the new season.

“Many strong athletes came to this race and our team managed to get some great results. Tomorrow, the rest of the team will also race at Vershina Tee in Eastern Russia. We are looking forward to seeing what they can do. It will not be easy to combine Visma Ski Classics events with the Russian race calendar, but we hope to be in the top three Pro Teams,” says Andrey Tyuterev.

Last season, Russian Winter Team finished in the 4^th position in the Pro Team competition. Therefore, one of the main goals for the next season is to end Scandinavian dominance and be able to be among the podium Pro Teams.