In the first edition of Ride Like a Skiing Star
we introduced you to the favorite vehicles of skiing stars ( or, perhaps, of their sponsors – but it’s the same thing, right? )
Since any skier spends much time lugging her/his gear around, the relationship between them is rather tight, intimate we might say.
Small wonder that when skiers do not post their snaps with gorgeous snowy mountains as a background – they do so with their rides.
Not everyone is there – Alex Harvey of Canada and Sergeey Ustiugov of Russia are both avid car enthusiasts – but good luck finding any photo of them behind the wheel or lovingly hugging their steel horse.
Nobody knows what Martin Sundby drives because nobody knows anything about Martin Sundby who hates social media ( but we have a nice surprise vid at the end) . We do, however, know that Petter Northug luuuves that Audi A7 but, sadly, can not drive it ( or anything else) for another two years.
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We have to start with a prince of ski tracks – and king of Instagram, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo
Here he is, standing on the top of a Toyota. And not just any Toyota – it’s famed in certain circles Toyota Hilux AT38 – totally re-engineered & upgraded version of a Japanese pick-up truck by the Iceland-based Arctic Trucks! That kind of conversation adds at least USD 30,000 to the sticker price – and makes the truck virtually unstoppable on a rough terrain.
“Hilux Arctic Trucks AT38 is the choice of pick up for professionals, explorers, scientists, and the serious off roader alike” the company says. Where does one keep the skis though?
Ebba Andersson got a nice gift for her 20th birthday, courtesy of Volkswagen – here she is with her brand new Tiguan R-Line with Team Sweden logo on the side.
” I’m hanging out with my new car at Berners in Östersund, where Volkswagen Supersprint will be held on track at the end of October. Thanks to@volkswagensverige and @berners1925because I now drive around in a nice Tiguan!” reads the caption.
While SUVs and pick-up trucks might be hip and, well, popular with younger generation, the car of choice for many ( most? ) skiers is the station wagon – bigger trunk there, you know.
Ludvig Søgnen Jensen, the “world’s fastest skier” who beat even Klaebo in supersprint last spring is also showing his new ride – Mazda 6 Kombi
…while another top sprinter, world champ Federico Pellegrino is putting his personalized Audi A6 Avant on display . Quattro, of course – isn;t that in Italian?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BW9jMhDFiA3/
….and Iivo Niskanen puts trusts into his Subaru Outback. all-time 4WD . Naturally, for Finnish roads where herds of wondering Reindeer are common, it comes with collision-avoidance EyeSight system
Alexander Bessmertnykh might have also preferred a station wagon – but had no choice on the matter: his Mercedes Benz ML 400 was gifted to him by the Russian government for his Sochi -2014 silver Olympic medal, same as all other Olympic medalists ( champions got bigger GL500s)
It has “Team Russia 2014” on outside and a customized metal plaque inside saying “Olympic Team, Sochi 2014”. Nice number-plate too – people of Kemerovo in Siberia now surely know who is driving that one!
Promised Bonus Vid. Here we have two of the most private i.e social media shy skiers in one video – competing in that most ski-related of all sports: who would pack more stuff in the trunk of a Volvo XC 90 ( T8 plug-in hybrid – fancy!) in 90 seconds flat.