Fischer Dominates The Long Distance Scene
The professional ski marathon series "Ski Classics" celebrated its season finale last weekend with the Janteloppet. One thing is clear: No competitor can hold a candle to Fischer Athletes over long distances. All the winners in the thirteen individual competitions relied on Fischer. Over the entire Ski Classics season, 34 of the 39 athletes on the podium came from the Fischer Race Family, including Emilie Fleten (NOR, Team Ramudden) and Johan Hoel (NOR, Team Ragde Charge), who claimed the season’s overall victories.
Emilie Fleten was the dominating female athlete of the 23l24 season. The 31-year-old Norwegian finished on the podium in all individual races in the Ski Classics series and took the top spot seven times. With her powerful double pole pushes and courageous solo moves, the exceptional athlete was able to pull away from the field again and again, winning the Marcialonga and Vasalauf classics as well as the Janteloppet final with ease. When Emilie Fleten secured the yellow bib for her first Overall Standings victory in the Ski Classics, she was overwhelmed. "It's so nice to end the season the way I started it: with a win! You can dream about it, but I never expected a season like this. It was great to be on the podium in every race and I'm more than happy." Kati Roivas (FIN, Team Eksjöhus) performed consistently well throughout the season with seven podium finishes, securing second place in the overall standings ahead of her teammate Magni Smedaas (NOR, Team Eksjöhus), who shone with three wins and five podium finishes after a late start to the season due to back problems. Overall, the best eight women in the top ten relied on the striking yellow Speedmax DP Sprint skis from Fischer.
The men's Ski Classics overall standings were not decided until the final, and a Fischer triple from Team Ragde Charge came out on top. Johan Hoel (NOR, Team Ragde Charge), who was disappointed after his second place at the Vasalauf, followed up with his first victory in the Ski Classics series at the Reistadløpet in impressive style. With five more podiums and numerous finishes in the top ten, the 29-year-old won the Ski Classics overall standings ahead of his teammates Kasper Stadaas (NOR, Team Ragde Charge), who had four wins and two further podium finishes, and Andreas Nygaard (NOR, Team Ragde Charge), who claimed three victories and an additional podium finish. Torleif Syrstad (NOR, Lager 157 Ski Team) was the fastest man of the day in the two longest races of the series, the Vasaloppet and Janteloppet. All in all, the best twelve athletes in the men's field were successful on Speedmax boots and DP Sprint skis, underlining Fischer's dominance in this segment.
The two overall winners Emilie Fleten and Johan Hoel were also the winners in the climb competition. The green jersey for the best in the sprint competition also went to Emilie Fleten and Amund Hoel (NOR, Team Engcon). Karolina Hedenström (SWE, Lager 157 Ski Team) and Thomas Ødegaarden (NOR, Team Eksjöhus) won the pink jerseys in the "Youth" competition for the under 26s. Team Eksjöhus won the Pro Team competition ahead of Team Ramudden and Team Ragde Charge.
In skimo the Overall World Cup winner for the second time in a row, as well as overall winner of the Sprint World Cup round up another remarkable season of the Frenchman Thibault Anselmet.
In the current Skimo season, Thibault Anselmet has once again proven that he is by far the most versatile athlete in the current field of athletes. The proof of this is his second overall World Cup in a row, which he secured with a victory in the sprint in Cortina. Thibault thus wins the overall World Cup with 998 points and a large lead over Maximilien Droin du Chapois (763 points) from Belgium and Remi Bonnet (741 points) from Switzerland. He also won the overall Sprint World Cup with two victories and three further podium finishes.
At the end of this impressive season, Thibault won the Overall World Cup, the Sprint World Cup, 4 World Cup victories (2x sprint, 2x relay), 7 further World Cup podiums (sprint, individual and vertical) and two podiums at the European Championships in Flaine, FRA, in the individual and relay events. What a season – congratulations, Thibault!
