“I contributed in my own way”

By Inge Scheve

Another good weekend of dryland racing for Team Madshus: Madshus turbo junior Alvar Myhlback shines in prestigious roller ski marathon in Sweden, solid podium for Emilien Jacquelin in France and mountain bike victory for Madshus product developer. 

On Saturday afternoon, 18-year-old Alvar Myhlback wins the 40-kilometer classic roller ski race Värnamorullen by more than half a minute, leaving the adults to fight over the rest of the podium. In the women’s race, Hedda Bångman rolls into third place and snags her first podium for the season. 

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A couple of hours later, Emilien Jacquelin secured second place in the mass start at the Martin Fourcade Nordic festival in Annecy France - with a start list worthy of a World Cup. 

For the 28-year-old French biathlete, who signed with Madshus this spring, the podium was both a yardstick for how his dryland training is going, as well as chance to give back to his supporters. Despite the heat, the French biathlete delivered a heck of a show. 

“It was quite a fierce fight out there. People who come to the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival want to see the biathletes they support all year round, but they also want to see a show and I contributed in my own way,” Jacquelin said to Nordic Mag after his second-place finish. 

Are you happy with your performance?
“On the skis, yes, I am very happy with what I produced, especially in the first round when I had a lot of energy. After that it was mentally really tough, especially in the last lap. But physically, it was good. My shooting was good too, but I'm missing the results. I tried to set the target during the races, but it may not have been the right strategy. But preparation races are made for that. The biggest takeaway from this, is that my mindset was the right one.”

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In Germany, Lucas Fratzscher secured an impressive gold in the sprint in the German National Chamopionship. Following up with a second place in the pursuit the day after. The red athlete has really started the rollerskiing season well, and looks to be in shape for the coming winter.

Last but not least, and just a few miles from the factory, Madshus ski engineer and product developer Lars Berger shows off his fitness and skills at the 84-kilometer mountain bike race Birkebeinerrittet from Rena to Lillehammer. 

The 44-year-old former world champion and Olympian in both biathlon and cross-country skiing finished in 2 hours 44 minutes and 58 seconds, winning his age class by five minutes. 

Adding up his finishes from the Birkebeiner ski race this winter and the run in June, Berger also wins his age class in the “Birkebeiner Triple” by a land slide and was third overall in the Birkebeiner Triple. Quite impressive for a man who full-time!