Andreas Nygaard made his Vasaloppet debut in 2013, finishing 55th. His breakthrough came the following year when he, despite some trouble along the way, finished sixth.
\u201cI noticed early that long-distance races suited me best. When the Aukland brothers asked after Vasaloppet 2014 if I wanted to focus on long-distance skiing, the choice was easy,\u201d says 35-year-old Andreas Nygaard of Team Ragde Charge.<\/p>\n\n
Eleven years later, he is the most successful men\u2019s skier in Ski Classics history with 21 victories (Britta Johansson Norgren leads all athletes with 25). Nygaard\u2019s results in the Grand Classics races \u2013 Marcialonga, Jizersk\u00e1 50, Vasaloppet, and Birkebeinerrennet\u00a0\u2013\u00a0shine the brightest. Since his first Grand Classics win at Vasaloppet in 2018, Nygaard has claimed eleven victories in his 25 starts across Ski Classics\u2019 four most prestigious events.<\/p>\n\n
When he won Marcialonga this past winter, he joined the exclusive group of athletes who have won all four classics, alongside Anders Aukland, Petter Eliassen, Jenny Grip, and Cristina Paluselli.
\u201cThat completed my career. The Grand Classics races suit me well, and I\u2019ve focused specifically on them. After that, it\u2019s a matter of confidence. I\u2019ve cracked the code when it comes to preparation. I usually go on a high-altitude camp in January, race in Central Europe, and manage to hit my best form of the season for Vasaloppet, and then carry that all the way to Birkebeinerrennet,\u201d Nygaard says, adding:<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe greatest achievement of my career is five wins in the last six Birkebeinerrennet races. That is a race that I, ten years ago, didn\u2019t think suited me at all. But if I were to highlight a single race as the peak of my career, it\u2019s the Vasaloppet victory in 2018. I had never felt anything like the feeling in Moraparken that day, and I don\u2019t think I ever will again. Every parameter was maxed out. I felt unbeatable. I\u2019m guessing Alvar Myhlback had the same feeling this past winter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
In 2022, Nygaard claimed his second Vasaloppet victory.
\u201cVasaloppet suits me and my natural talent very well. I\u2019m happy I\u2019ve won this extremely prestigious race twice. But I think I should have at least one more. I hope it\u2019s not too late to get a third victory. That\u2019s an obvious goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
When you first broke through, you were known mainly as a strong sprinter. In recent years you\u2019ve won races in other ways. Do you agree?
\u201cAbsolutely. Before COVID, my strength was producing a lot of power in a short amount of time at the end of long races. The sprint was my ace up the sleeve. Now I can\u2019t produce the same explosiveness anymore. My strength now is skiing efficiently until the decisive moment, and I\u2019m good tactically. And I can still deliver good sprints, just not in the same way as before,\u201d Nygaard says modestly.<\/p>\n\n
At the same time, it\u2019s worth noting that two of this past winter\u2019s victories (Marcialonga and Birkebeinerrennet) came after Nygaard decided the race in the final 100 metres. This winter, he hopes to claim his third victory in forefathers’ tracks, matching fellow Norwegian John Kristian Dahl\u2019s record as the Norwegian with most wins in Vasaloppet\u2019s 100-year-plus history.<\/p>\n\n
Andreas shares his advice ahead of your first winter ski session<\/strong> So what might such a session look like? FACTS \/ Andreas Nygaard<\/strong> Notably: Five athletes have won all four Grand Classics races in their careers (none have won all four in a single season). They are Anders Aukland, Petter Eliassen, Andreas Nygaard, Jenny Grip, and Cristina Paluselli.<\/p>\n\n Several athletes have won three of the four races, and two of them are still active at the elite level: Emil Persson (missing a win in Birkebeinerrennet) and Magni Smed\u00e5s (missing a win in Vasaloppet).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Norwegian skier Andreas Nygaard has more Ski Classics victories than any other man in history. His eleven Grand Classics wins stand out the most. At Vasaloppet, he has finished in the top ten nine times, including two victories and two second places. Here, he speaks about how Vasaloppet changed his career, the \u201cnew way\u201d to decide races, and he shares advice ahead of your first winter ski session.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":802,"template":"","news_category":[],"sport_category":[2],"class_list":["post-801","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","sport_category-ski"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Many skiers are currently doing their first snow training sessions of the season. It\u2019s a time full of possibilities, but also certain risks.
\u201cIt\u2019s easy to think you should get in long sessions as soon as you finally have the chance to ski on snow again. But I\u2019d argue for slightly shorter sessions where, during parts of the workout, you ski a bit faster. Not intervals, but still a higher pace so you start skiing with good technique. If you ski for a long time at a very low speed, it\u2019s easy to ingrain poor technique,\u201d Nygaard says.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re training for two hours, my suggestion is that every half hour you add five minutes where you increase the pace a bit and really focus on skiing well, technically. I find it helps me get into good technique faster,\u201d says Nygaard.<\/p>\n\n
Born:<\/strong> November 22, 1990 (35)
Nationality:<\/strong> Norway
Long-distance team:<\/strong> Team Ragde Charge
Andreas Nygaard\u2019s placements in Grand Classics races from 2018 onward:<\/strong>
Marcialonga: 2018: 5, 2019: 2, 2020: 4, 2021: did not race, 2022: 4, 2023: 3, 2024: 26, 2025: 1
Jizersk\u00e1 50: 2018: 3, 2019: 1, 2020: 1, 2021: did not race, 2022: 1, 2023: 2, 2024: canceled, 2025: 6
Vasaloppet: 2018: 1, 2019: 4, 2020: 6, 2021: 15, 2022: 1, 2023: 2, 2024: 7, 2025: 8
Birkebeinerrennet: 2018: 1, 2019: 2, 2020: cancelled, 2021: cancelled, 2022: 1, 2023: 1, 2024: 1, 2025: 1<\/p>\n\n