New Nordic Ski Athletes Open World Cup Seasons in Finland

The 2022-23 Nordic Skiing World Cup season gets underway this week with Ruka, Finland hosting the traditional first stop of the Cross-Country season from November 25-27, and Kontiolahti, Finland hosting the first Biathlon event from November 29 - December 4. Those races mark the Salomon debut for seven new athletes who have joined the team to use the brand’s skis, bindings and boots for the 2022-23 season.

Last season was a record-breaking campaign for the Salomon Nordic team. Its athletes earned 150 World Cup podiums, won crystal globes in six different disciplines, an overall Biathlon title (won by Marte Olsbu Røiseland), and won 25 Olympic medals in Beijing. Now, that already strong team adds several new World Cup performers and more young talent from the junior ranks.

Beyond the opening races in Finland, the upcoming season is full of the usual historic stops across Europe, but all eyes will be on the two World Championship events on both circuits—the Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof, Germany starting February 8, 2023, and the Cross-Country Ski World Championships in Planca, Slovenia beginning February 21. :

“This season, we have World Championships in Cross-Country and Biathlon, so it’s a big season for our athletes as we help them build on the success they’ve had over the last few years,” says Patrice Frison-Roche, who leads Salomon’s International Nordic Skiing Racing Service Team. “Working with our top professionals plays a crucial role in making better skis and boots because their performance is validation that we’re doing things right from an R&D standpoint.”

NEW CROSS-COUNTRY STARS

Salomon will welcome two women to the World Cup team: Nadine Fähndrich, one the strongest Swiss skiers on the circuit, and young Norwegian star Maria Hartz Melling, who won the gold medal in Sprint at the Junior World Championships in 2022. On the men’s side, Frenchman Jules Lapierre will join the French brand as well.

They join the ranks of an already star-filled team with veterans like 2020-21 overall World Champion Jessie Diggins (USA)—who won two more Olympic medals in Beijing—and Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist, who won the Sprint World Cup in 2022 as well as two silver medals and a bronze at the Olympics. On the men’s side, Frenchman’s Richard Jouve will be back to defend his World Cup 2022 Sprint overall championship title.

NEW BIATHLON RECRUITS

Salomon’s Marte Olsbu Røiseland (Norway) is the defending overall World Cup Champion and coming of a dominant season in which she also won the Sprint and Pursuit titles, along with three Olympic gold medals and two bronze.

This year, she will be joined on the Salomon Biathlon team by four new athletes. One is fellow Norwegian Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, a rising talent at age 26. Also joining the team are Lisa Vittozzi (Italy), Kamila Zuk (Poland) and Sweden’s junior athlete Sara Andersson, the 2022 Youth Olympic Festival gold and silver medalist and the 2022 Youth World Championships gold and bronze medalist.“

It’s exciting to have athletes like Sara in Biathlon and Maria in Cross-Country coming from the local Salomon junior programs,” says Frison-Roche. “We’re building a team toward the 2026 Olympics by connecting with young athletes as they build their career and we’re thrilled they have chosen to depend on Salomon as they take their first steps on the World Cup level. It’s a credit to our team members at the local country level who are finding, recruiting and helping athletes progress to the highest levels of the sport.”

For the 2022-23 season, Salomon athletes in skate skiing will rely on S/LAB Skate skis, S/LAB Carbon Skate boots and S/LAB Carbon Click poles. In classic skiing, the athletes will depend on the S/LAB Classic skis, S/LAB Carbon classic boots and the S/LAB Carbon click poles.

The new Salomon Nordic collection that was unveiled at the 2022 Olympics and helped Salomon athletes win 25 medals is now available at retail for the fall/winter 2022-23 season.“

We use feedback from our top athletes to help us make better products,” says Frison-Froche. “And it’s not just to make better skis, boots, bindings and poles for professionals, but those learnings cascade throughout the entire Salomon range. First to the S/LAB products used by committed athletes who are traditionally members of ski clubs, and then into the products designed to help people progress their skiing, and even the products that will help people get started in Nordic skiing.”