Eleven Grand Classics victories: Nygaard on the road to the top and the dream of a third Vasaloppet win

Andreas Nygaard made his Vasaloppet debut in 2013, finishing 55th. His breakthrough came the following year when he, despite some trouble along the way, finished sixth.
“I noticed early that long-distance races suited me best. When the Aukland brothers asked after Vasaloppet 2014 if I wanted to focus on long-distance skiing, the choice was easy,” says 35-year-old Andreas Nygaard of Team Ragde Charge.

Eleven years later, he is the most successful men’s skier in Ski Classics history with 21 victories (Britta Johansson Norgren leads all athletes with 25). Nygaard’s results in the Grand Classics races – Marcialonga, Jizerská 50, Vasaloppet, and Birkebeinerrennet – shine the brightest. Since his first Grand Classics win at Vasaloppet in 2018, Nygaard has claimed eleven victories in his 25 starts across Ski Classics’ four most prestigious events.

When he won Marcialonga this past winter, he joined the exclusive group of athletes who have won all four classics, alongside Anders Aukland, Petter Eliassen, Jenny Grip, and Cristina Paluselli.
“That completed my career. The Grand Classics races suit me well, and I’ve focused specifically on them. After that, it’s a matter of confidence. I’ve cracked the code when it comes to preparation. I usually go on a high-altitude camp in January, race in Central Europe, and manage to hit my best form of the season for Vasaloppet, and then carry that all the way to Birkebeinerrennet,” Nygaard says, adding:

“The greatest achievement of my career is five wins in the last six Birkebeinerrennet races. That is a race that I, ten years ago, didn’t think suited me at all. But if I were to highlight a single race as the peak of my career, it’s the Vasaloppet victory in 2018. I had never felt anything like the feeling in Moraparken that day, and I don’t think I ever will again. Every parameter was maxed out. I felt unbeatable. I’m guessing Alvar Myhlback had the same feeling this past winter.”

In 2022, Nygaard claimed his second Vasaloppet victory.
“Vasaloppet suits me and my natural talent very well. I’m happy I’ve won this extremely prestigious race twice. But I think I should have at least one more. I hope it’s not too late to get a third victory. That’s an obvious goal.”

When you first broke through, you were known mainly as a strong sprinter. In recent years you’ve won races in other ways. Do you agree?
“Absolutely. Before COVID, my strength was producing a lot of power in a short amount of time at the end of long races. The sprint was my ace up the sleeve. Now I can’t produce the same explosiveness anymore. My strength now is skiing efficiently until the decisive moment, and I’m good tactically. And I can still deliver good sprints, just not in the same way as before,” Nygaard says modestly.

At the same time, it’s worth noting that two of this past winter’s victories (Marcialonga and Birkebeinerrennet) came after Nygaard decided the race in the final 100 metres. This winter, he hopes to claim his third victory in forefathers’ tracks, matching fellow Norwegian John Kristian Dahl’s record as the Norwegian with most wins in Vasaloppet’s 100-year-plus history.

Andreas shares his advice ahead of your first winter ski session
Many skiers are currently doing their first snow training sessions of the season. It’s a time full of possibilities, but also certain risks.
“It’s easy to think you should get in long sessions as soon as you finally have the chance to ski on snow again. But I’d argue for slightly shorter sessions where, during parts of the workout, you ski a bit faster. Not intervals, but still a higher pace so you start skiing with good technique. If you ski for a long time at a very low speed, it’s easy to ingrain poor technique,” Nygaard says.

So what might such a session look like?
“If you’re training for two hours, my suggestion is that every half hour you add five minutes where you increase the pace a bit and really focus on skiing well, technically. I find it helps me get into good technique faster,” says Nygaard.

FACTS / Andreas Nygaard
Born: November 22, 1990 (35)
Nationality: Norway
Long-distance team: Team Ragde Charge
Andreas Nygaard’s placements in Grand Classics races from 2018 onward:
Marcialonga: 2018: 5, 2019: 2, 2020: 4, 2021: did not race, 2022: 4, 2023: 3, 2024: 26, 2025: 1
Jizerská 50: 2018: 3, 2019: 1, 2020: 1, 2021: did not race, 2022: 1, 2023: 2, 2024: canceled, 2025: 6
Vasaloppet: 2018: 1, 2019: 4, 2020: 6, 2021: 15, 2022: 1, 2023: 2, 2024: 7, 2025: 8
Birkebeinerrennet: 2018: 1, 2019: 2, 2020: cancelled, 2021: cancelled, 2022: 1, 2023: 1, 2024: 1, 2025: 1

Notably: Five athletes have won all four Grand Classics races in their careers (none have won all four in a single season). They are Anders Aukland, Petter Eliassen, Andreas Nygaard, Jenny Grip, and Cristina Paluselli.

Several athletes have won three of the four races, and two of them are still active at the elite level: Emil Persson (missing a win in Birkebeinerrennet) and Magni Smedås (missing a win in Vasaloppet).