The gentlemen is a crucial factor in the women's endurance race

In the shadow of the längdåkarnas världscupstävlingar starting another, namely långloppscupen. Ten world cup events, where Vasaloppet is the longest with its nine miles. On the women's side has Britta Johansson Norgren dominated the great, and brought home the overall world cup competitions three years in a row, this year she takes aim towards his fourth.

For the uninitialized can långloppen often appear as a long and long-lasting struggle in the mile after mile. But the reality is the opposite – not least on the women's side. The reason is the competition that is going on in parallel.

" the Gentlemen is a very crucial factor in many of our races. Someone will catch up, it can break the clumps and then you have to be prepared for passengers to hang on, " says Lina Korsgren.

agree with. But in order to become the world's best långloppsåkare has 35-year-old on a felicitous use of the men's competition to their advantage.

" Many people may think that it is sad that they have such an important role, but it is also fun that it is so. Will a guy so it becomes a fartväxling which is not at all so simple. But if you can hang on to get an advantage, and ultimately become a better rider, " says Britta Johansson Norgren.

She takes up last year in the Norwegian skidklassikern Birkebeinerrennet, where she had to let the head cluster, as an example.

" I was six, and had so far that I did not see the lead, it felt impossible. But then came a few guys caught up with me and my first thought was, ”oh, I will never be able to keep up with them”.

– But then changed my thoughts to ”if I am going in goal, and has released them, and it turns out that they have caught up with the girls at the front, so I will be so angry at myself”.

" So I hung up on the guys as long as I could and when there were two kilometres to go I started to see the other girls. I caught up some of the inside of the stadium, and I was very pleased with myself that I took that decision. So it's a little bit about to fool himself as well, " said Britta Johansson Norgren.

the site of a blast today and at the same time make it more difficult to make use of male hjälpryttare goes the women's start, usually before the men's nowadays. Among the ten, the classics are the only Race who have left a common start.

three years ago, chose one of the tour's most prestigious competitions, the Italian Marcialonga, to let the ladies go out ten minutes before the gentlemen. If it has solved the problem can be discussed.

" In years so it was a stronger group that went away with the girls, but then it was like we went and waited on the guys. No one wants to burn themselves out before the guys come and then we will only go and look at each other in the two-mile which is a bit silly, " says Lina Korsgren.

" I think it is a little hard actually. For it gets incredibly messy when the guys will catch up and very determined. You should almost have a bit of luck to not lose sight of the other girls, or miss a cluster that someone came between them in the chaos.

took home last year's Marcialonga after a spurt fight with her biggest competitor, österrikiskan Katerina Smutna. When the gentlemen came up the catch-up was the duo of the only ones who managed to hang on.

– You have a tactic in advance, but it plays a role when the guys will. We can't keep so long, but do you do it for a while, you get usually a gap. Then comes a new rear, and then you try to hang with him for a while, " says Britta Johansson Norgren.

both Britta Johansson Norgren and Lina Korsgren also are good sprint skier is no coincidence. For the successful långloppsåkarna is honour a common denominator.

– whether it is the gentlemen who will catch up or if we travel in a pack so it becomes jerky. It is, therefore, sprint skier is so good at long-distance race, you have to keep up with tempoväxlingarna. For those coming from the traditional routes to a long-distance race will have just the bit to eat them up.

On January 12, begins the first långloppsklassikern Kaiser Maximilian Lauf in Austria.