Cross-country: William Poromaa changes plan – skips altitude camp: “I lost my way”

Swedish cross-country skier William Poromaa says he is changing his preparation for the coming season and will skip an altitude camp that was part of his plan last year.

Poromaa’s 2024–25 season ended on a high, with a silver medal in the World Championships 50 km and a bronze in the relay, plus his first-ever World Cup victory shortly before the championships. However, he describes the season as a story of contrasts: before Christmas and throughout the Tour de Ski, his results were mostly poor, with only one top‑ten in twelve races.

Looking back, he points to illness and significant problems following an altitude camp as key reasons. He explains that he struggles with going to altitude, returning home in great shape and training hard, and then heading back to altitude again in the middle of that cycle. He says he responds worse to the second stint and that the training load can easily become too hard.

With the Milan–Cortina 2026 Olympics approaching, Poromaa calls this a major lesson from last year and says he will alter his build‑up to reduce risk and improve consistency.