The annual Blink summer ski festival in Sandnes (NOR) was the first time the World Cup racers met to compete since the end of the 2017/18 season in March.
The Blink events, which took place from August 1 to 4, featured a field worthy of any World Cup on snow, with the top international racers from more than a dozen countries to both biathlon and cross-country events.
In the brutal uphill time trial Lysebotn Opp on Thursday, August 2, Madshus Olympian Hans Christer Holund (NOR) was less than four seconds from the victory at the event. Fellow Madshus racer Simen Andreas Sveen (NOR) was third. Holund won the uphill time trial in 2017.
“We are all in the middle of the biggest volume for dryland training, and it’s the results on snow that really matter. But it’s fun to perform well, no matter what time of the year, and this shows that I am on track to be where I want to be come winter,” says Sveen after his podium performance.
Additionally, Madshus racers posted several top five and top-ten results throughout the festival, including two times fifth place for Olympian Anaïs Bescond (FRA) in the biathlon mass start and super duel final, fifth and sixth place for marathon specialist Øystein Pettersen (NOR) in the 60-kilometer race Blink Classic and the 15-kilometer mass start, as well as sixth place for Holund in the Blink Classic. Finally, Olympian Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN) was sixth in the 10-kilometer mass start.
Curious about roller skiing or need ideas for how to get the most from your summer training?
Check out our article series on roller skiing:
Part 1: Safety first
Part 2: Getting the most from you dryland training: Vasaloppet Champion Dahl’s best advice
Part 3: How do you roll? Weng’s favorite roller ski workout