Cross-country skiing · Vasaloppet
Vasaloppet training plan
Vasaloppet is 90 km in classic style from Sälen to Mora. TriQuest builds a personal training plan for the race around your week: on roller skis in the autumn, on cross-country skis when the snow comes, with the long sessions and the double poling the race asks for.
What Vasaloppet asks of you
Ninety kilometres in classic tracks means many hours on the move. Endurance decides it: being able to ski easily and evenly for a long time, and keeping your technique when the fatigue comes. On the long flat stretches most skiers double pole much of the race, so the upper body and double poling need training as deliberately as the legs.
That is why a good plan for Vasaloppet is mostly easy endurance that grows week by week, long ski sessions that get your body used to the hours in the tracks, and double poling at race pace, with lighter weeks in between so your body has time to recover.
How your Vasaloppet plan is built
- Add Vasaloppet as your race. TriQuest plans it as a long ski race, longer than 60 km.
- Tell TriQuest how long you can ski comfortably at an easy pace, and the plan starts at the right level.
- Your week decides: which days you can train, how much time you have each day and which day the long ski session goes on.
- The plan is built in phases up to the start, with lighter weeks at regular intervals and a taper so you arrive rested in Sälen.
- The long session builds week by week, up to four hours before the race, and then you also train double poling at race pace.
- Sessions have heart-rate targets from your threshold heart rate, or perceived effort.
- Add strength and it goes into your week.
Roller skis in the autumn, cross-country skis in the winter
- In the months without snow the ski sessions are on roller skis on asphalt – the long session and the hill intervals too – with the same load as on snow.
- You choose which months you ski on snow: December to March unless you choose otherwise, more if you live further north.
- Going to the mountains for a week in the autumn? Add a snow period and that week's sessions are on snow.
- Snow came early? Switch all upcoming ski sessions between cross-country skis and roller skis with one tap, whenever you like.
- The calendar shows where each ski session is skied, and you can choose cross-country skis or roller skis for a single session.
Öppet spår, Halvvasan or Tjejvasan
Vasaloppet's winter week has more races. Öppet spår goes the same 90 km and is planned like Vasaloppet. A shorter race, such as Halvvasan at 45 km or Tjejvasan at 30 km, is planned for its distance, with long sessions that fit the race.
For most people Vasaloppet is also the first race of En Svensk Klassiker, where TriQuest holds all four races together with a plan for each race.
Skiing together with running or cycling
- Choose cross-country skiing as your sport, or combine it with running or cycling, for example if you aim at more races during the year.
- You choose which sport matters most, or both equally.
With you in the tracks
- Your planned ski sessions are in Apple Watch's Workout app as cross-country skiing, step by step.
- Ski sessions from Garmin Connect, Apple Health and Health Connect are matched to the day's planned session.
- A double-poling machine indoors? Double poling is a sport of its own, with a training computer that connects to a Concept2 PM5.
- Every session is compared with the plan, and you see how training load, fitness and fatigue develop over the weeks.
A coach that knows where you ski
- Ask about today's session, the week or your form before Vasaloppet. The coach knows whether your ski sessions are on cross-country skis or roller skis, suggests changes and you approve.
- If your shoulders, back or legs are sore, the coach asks after the session how it felt, and the plan trains around it.
- It is training advice, not medical advice.
Common questions
Common questions about training for Vasaloppet
When should I start training for Vasaloppet?
TriQuest builds the plan from the day you start to the race, and the phases fit the time there is. The earlier you start, the more time the long sessions get to grow.
Can I train for Vasaloppet without snow?
Yes. In the months without snow the ski sessions are on roller skis on asphalt – the long session and the hill intervals too – with the same load as on snow. When the snow comes you switch to snow.
How long do the long sessions get?
The long session builds week by week, up to four hours before a long race such as Vasaloppet. It goes on the day you chose for the long session.
Can I combine ski training with running or cycling?
Yes. Choose cross-country skiing together with running or cycling, and whether skiing matters most or both equally.
What does it cost?
During the beta everything is included at no cost.
More about TriQuest
Triathlon
Plans from sprint to full distance, with bricks, a taper and race nutrition.
Running
Plans from 5 km to the marathon, with pace and heart-rate zones.
Cycling
Plans for bike races, a training computer, routes and power intervals.
Cross-country skiing
Plans for ski races, on snow or roller skis by the season.
Bike computer
Build your own screens for every bike, on your phone.
Race nutrition
Carbohydrates, fluid and sodium for the race, step by step.
Ready to train smarter?
Let TriQuest bring your plan, sessions, analysis and coaching together in one place.