By Inge Scheve
Leave it to the U25-set to cap off the season with style: Madshus rising stars sweep up the awards and trophies galore.
In Sweden, Madshus racers Edvin Anger and Alvar Myhlback receive prestigious awards at the annual Swedish Skidsnack Gala.
22-year-old Anger is named 2024 Male Skier of the Year award, the biggest honor at the Gala. Only in his second year at the senior level, he posted two individual World Cup podiums and won the overall U23 World Cup by a landslide. He also took home three gold medals from the Swedish National Championships.
“This is hard to beat. First, doing so well at the World Cup, then winning three gold medals at the national championships, and now being named Male skier of the Year,” says Anger.
18-year-old turbo junior Alvar Myhlback is named 2024 Breakthrough of the Year at the same event. In December, he raced his first World Cup events, and dominated various international races at the senior level. In February, he took home two gold medals from his first-ever FIS Junior World Championships. A few weeks later, Myhlback skied into third place in the 90-kilometer Vasaloppet, before capping his season with a stellar top-20 finish at the World Cup final in March.
“This was really cool. It’s hard for me to pick just one highlight for the season, but Vasaloppet and the junior World Championships were definitely big for me” Myhlback says.
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Photo by: Nordic Focus
Madshus biathlete Ukaleq Slettemark (GRL) dominates the 160-kilometer expedition-style Arctic Circle Race in Greenland. The 22-year-old won all the three stages of the challenging event, where racers stay in tent camps between each stage. After winning the first stage by the skin of her teeth, Slettemark crushed her competitors in the next two stages.
“What’s special about the Arctic Circle Race is that it’s over several days, and you have so much time in the camp to sit and talk to everyone; I had such a great time meeting old friends and new people, too. You never run out of things to talk about from the races because everyone has their own experiences and because the race is so long and dramatic” Slettemark says to ProXCskiing.com.
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Photo by: Arctic Circle Race
Hedda Østberg Amundsen, 25, wins the 43-kilometer Kobberløpet in Sulis (NOR), while Tiril Liverud Knudsen (NOR) shines at unofficial Skarverennet on Saturday. As the main event was cancelled last minute due to high winds, hundreds of skiers decided to organize an unofficial version. The 25-year-old Norwegian won the sprint preem and finished third overall, in a stacked field worthy of a World Cup.
Oh, but the race season is not entirely finished either. On April 27, an all-time deep field of racers are headed to Mosjøen (NOR) to compete in the prestigious show race Bysprinten. Among the racers are overall World Cup champion Harald Østberg Amundsen and twin sister Hedda, as well as biathlete Marit Ishol Skogan.
Photo by: Nordic Focus