PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Stina Nilsson has changed sports again.
Now it will be a long race ahead and a big adjustment for the Swede.
– It is no game to throw yourself into this, says ski profile Magnar Dalen to langd.se.
Just like four years ago, choose Stina Nilsson to change sports and throw yourself into something completely new. In 2020, it was biathlon that became a new challenge, but after several tough seasons, I have now had enough.
Stina’s new sport
Starting with the coming season, the 30-year-old will instead be long-distance running. She has already agreed a two-year contract with the Norwegian team Team Ragde Charge and will take her place in the Ski Classics for the winter.
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If the change from cross-country skiing to biathlon was a big adjustment, this will also be a real change for Stina, who was one of the world’s best sprint skiers. The ski profile Magnar Dalensports manager in Team Ragde Charge, opens up about the expectations for the Swede.
– It feels very exciting, then neither we nor she know how this will end. But that is the thrill of sports. That you don’t know what the outcome will be. But we have followed Stina and of course seen her great success as a cross-country skier, and we are constantly looking for talent for our team. Then we also know that there is a lot of work to be done before you are a full-fledged top-6 rider. Because it is quite clear that the ladies’ Ski Classics have developed enormously in the last ten years. It’s no joke to throw yourself in there. If you look at Marit Björgen, for example, she came second at the Vasaloppet, but she put in a lot of work to get there, says Dalen in an interview with langd.se.
The words about Nilsson
Above all, the big change will be that it is a significantly longer race than what both sprints and also biathlon were about. Therefore, those in the team will have to work a lot with Nilsson during the pre-season to turn her into a long-distance skier.
– It is clear that there will be a change in the training plan, but she is experienced and well trained from both the national skiing team and the national biathlon team, so she has a good grasp of training and how her body works. Then we leaders and other activists must support her along the way. And it will happen starting during the first camp at the end of May. Then we will, among other things, work with some technical things and things that she may need help with. But if you look at the shift, it reminds a lot of the third gear in skates; to get up on “high hip” so I think that will come quickly and naturally once she starts. Then I am more worried about the risk of injury to arms, back or wrists. There, it is important to be smart in the transition, admits the sports director in the interview.
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But she will have to do most of the work herself, as long-distance skiers are more independent in their training and development. The Norwegian team also has a clear plan for their exciting new acquisition.
– We will work with her so that she becomes a total skater; meaning that the most important thing is the finish line, not, for example, the sprints on the road. So now it’s about doing the work until there, and we use a lot of “skierg” (staking machine) in training and there we will “pepper the information in the graphs” to see how she is doing. But the best answers will come when she starts competing, says Dalen to the ski site and points out which races will suit Stina Nilsson best.
– I’m hoping for the Vasaloppet. But I believe in Marcialonga. Why? The start of the race is 13 kilometers uphill, but not “too steep”. Then it’s easy going over a long period of time, which we think suits her great exchange. And so the ending is all about grumpiness, and we think and hope she has a lot of that.
How do you think it goes for Stina Nilsson in the long run? Share the article and have your say!
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