“It feels like coming home,” says Petter Soleng Skinstad.
The 29-year-old Norwegian, who was on the Norwegian national team for two seasons, makes up half of Team Skinstad. The other half is Petter’s brother Mårten, 22.
The brothers are born and raised in Gjøvik, only a hop and a skip from the Madshus factory in Biri. They currently live in Lillehammer, and spend a lot of time at the family cabin at Sjusjøen, just a few miles from Lillehammer.
The brothers both compete in various cross-country events almost every weekend from November through April. The events range from local community races to international FIS competitions such as the season opener at Beitostølen with a start list worthy of a World Cup, as well as Ski Classics marathon races including Vasaloppet and Birkebeinerrennet, and World Loppet touring races.
While Maarten is focusing on traditional World Cup distances and events, Petter is spending more time on the marathon events, both as an racer and as an expert commentator for various media outlets.
“We love skiing, we love racing and we love the community. We probably do upwards of 40 races each season, and starting now, we will again race on Madshus skis. The new partnership with Madshus will allow us to get more involved with testing and product development as well, and we are excited to contribute
“Our first race on Madshus equipment will be on Iceland on May 2-4, and we are really looking forward to the opportunity to race in such a unique environment,” Petter says.
For Madshus, the partnership represents an opportunity to get closer involved with the grass root community.
“Both Petter and Maarten are strong personalities and well-connected in the skiing community both locally, nationally and internationally. We are excited to start work with them, and to be able to help them pursue their racing and skiing careers,” says Per Wiik, global marketing director at Madshus, Biri.