Source: Atomic Press Release
ATOMIC MARATHON TEAM’S STANISLAV REZAC TAKES OVERALL TITLE FOR WORLD LOPPET SERIES
“I pushed the team pretty hard this fall and summer,†commented Atomic’s race director, Peter Juric. “Sometimes maybe I was too tough with the men and women on the team. They would start whining like the little fat boys who eat too much chocolate and are afraid to ski fast. So I would raise my voice and threaten them with horrible things from medieval times if they did not follow my training. It paid off, our golden boy took the Cup for the season!â€
Stanislav Rezac won last Saturday’s Norwegian Birkebeiner to clinch the FIS Marathon Cup. His previous victories this season at the Marcialonga in Italy, the Konig Ludwig in Germany, the Keskinada in Canada and the China Vasloppet made him the favorite going into the Birkebeiner. “I am very pleased with how we work together as a team,†stated Rezac. “We were able to dominate most of the Loppets this year. There is no question that the Atomic Marathon Team has become the top gun on the World Loppet series.â€
“I think there are three reasons why we dominated the World Loppet,†suggested Juric. “One is that we really got perfect the combination of high altitude and low altitude training. You have to mix the two just right to win these marathons. Another reason is that we spent so much time working on sprints. All marathons come down to sprint. It does not matter none if race is 90km, it will come down to which boy or girl is faster sprinter at the end. I think third reason is the new 5000 base on our skis. It holds wax so well and the skis are fast no matter how far you race that day. The new skis are crazy fast.â€
“Stanislav is good boy, but I don’t want him to get all the attention. Team mates Oskar Svard won Sweden’s Vasaloppet and Karl Gunnar Skjonsfell won the Jizerska Padesatka in Czech Republic. We have many strong members on the team. Also, Andrea Holler is getting to be strong and fast girl. Next year she will take the Cup for women I am sure.â€
