Cross-country skier Valerio Grond has announced two changes for the coming season: He wants to reorganize his start preparation and be more tactically clever in the sprint finals.
26.11.2025, 05:00
26.11.2025, 05:01
SDA
From next Friday, the cross-country skiing team will start the Olympic season in Kuusamo. Grond, who has steadily developed his performance profile since his World Cup debut in December 2020, has become the team leader of the Swiss men as a sprint specialist. The Grisons native speaks openly to Keystone-SDA about his previous habits and the steps he plans to take. Because he was no longer satisfied with his approach to the races. The 25-year-old describes two key areas where he wants to consistently clear his path to the top.
Before the competition...
As an 18-year-old, he laid down the routines directly before the start - including always playing the same rock music. "I've never changed my approach and since the Tour de Ski last winter I've felt that I'm too focused in my preparation and that's why I'm not relaxed enough," he explains. The condition before the race was too serious. "I couldn't be flexible, I was too cerebral."
He has now devised an approach to break up the rigid preparation procedure. He plans to "get into focus more quickly and then get out again more quickly." To this end, he has introduced new music and a new warm-up - a signal that he is not interested in small steps, but in a fundamental relaxation. He also wants to have a chat with the people around him from time to time instead of constantly remaining in a mental tunnel.
... during the competition
Grond also wants to show a new side during the competition. He reflects on his sprint finals: "Last winter, I was in the final three times and it never went smoothly. That wasn't just down to bad luck, but also down to me. It has to do with my running style."
He wants to take the looseness of the warm-up with him and follow his instincts during the race. But: "If I make a tactical decision in future, then I have to follow it through 100 percent and not remain half-hearted or look at the competition." He wants to take a more playful approach to the competition and thus gain more spontaneity. He then gains the confidence to act according to the motto: avoid jostling, attack clearly.
Grond has already reached the final of the top 6 in the World Cup nine times, only making it onto the podium once, in Lahti in March 2024. Now he wants to turn his consistency in the finals into real podium potential.
Medal gives courage
In cross-country skiing, too, a successful winter athlete is formed in the summer. Grond, who led the Swiss men's relay team to a historic silver medal at the World Championships in Trondheim in March as the final skier, tackled this one full of drive. "The motivation after last winter's successes was huge."
The training was largely kept the same. "A lot of things worked well and we continued to work in the same direction as the year before. We didn't reinvent too many things," says the passionate hunter. This picture shows that he is building on a proven basis, but with a fresh perspective.
It goes without saying that a top runner in an Olympic season aims for a medal under the sign of the five rings. Nevertheless, Grond's statement is surprising: he would rather win a team sprint medal with Janik Riebli than an individual medal. "If I could win a medal with Janik, that would be a huge thing after our long journey together. That would be a happy sporting ending." The two have already stood on the podium together three times in the World Cup.
With this mix of relaxation, tactics and team dynamics, Grond has clear priorities for the 2025/26 season. His motto is: rethink preparation, lead races with courage and write history together with Riebli in the team sprint.
