Joonas Rasanen, now in his fifth season as head coach of the Denver Pioneers alpine skiing program, discussed his journey and the team’s outlook for the upcoming collegiate ski season in a recent interview with Denver athletics broadcaster Tyler Maun.
Rasanen, who became head coach in June 2021, has led the team to top-four finishes at each of the last four NCAA Championships. Alongside associate head coach M.R. Hostetter, he has guided student-athletes to 27 individual wins, three NCAA individual titles, and 24 All-American honors.
Reflecting on his path to Denver, Rasanen said: “I skied for New Mexico from 2011-15 and graduated from there. After that I skied professionally for a full years until 2019, did a few World Championships and dabbled with some World Cups and Europa Cup skiing. No Olympics unfortunately, but everything else. I retired in 2019 from professional ski racing and came over to the U.S. M.R. [Hostetter] and I got married in spring 2019. I coached at Eldora for a couple years, and when my predecessor at DU left I was in a spot where I could help out in the spring and then we applied and here we are at DU. It hasn’t been a straight road, but I don’t think anyone’s road is straight. It’s been a journey, but I’m super excited to be here.”
The team is coming off a strong season led by Sara Rask, who won eight races last year and claimed both slalom and giant slalom national championships. Returning athletes Mia Hunt, Thomas Hoffman, and Pietro Motterlini also earned All-American recognition; Hunt made her FIS Alpine World Cup debut earlier this year while Hoffman notched his first college victory at the RMISA Championships.
Asked about memorable venues during his own career as an athlete, Rasanen shared: “Obviously growing up in Finland and getting the chance to race World Cups in Levi is special. Getting to race Kitzbuehel and Schladming and all of that is special. There is something about this Holiday Classic up in Steamboat with the whole town over there. For me, I was never the strongest or fittest guy, so the hill is short enough where I could actually ski the whole way down and give it my everything. That was super special, but all of those places I am very fortunate to be able to ski all of that and see all of these cool spots.”
Pre-season training has been affected by Colorado’s dry fall weather but has continued thanks to cooperation with Loveland Ski Area: “To be honest, it’s hasn’t been too bad for training. We have a great partnership with Loveland. In terms of training we’ve had some good skiing going but in terms of snow volume up in the mountains it’s actually really sad to see,” Rasanen said.
He described how training required flexibility: “Typically we would train through and maybe drop the volume down…but this year we’ve been scrambling…Loveland here one day…Winter Park…maybe a little Copper-Vail action.” He emphasized trust in preparation: “I think the biggest thing for skiers is to trust the preparation…be yourself, ski fast and have fun with it.”
On team chemistry before on-snow sessions begin: “We typically try to do a team-bonding weekend up in the mountains where everyone gets to know each other…We play soccer and hockey every Thursday…So in the gym they push each other…”
Rasanen spoke highly of returning champion Sara Rask’s leadership: “I think for Sara we have been pleasantly surprised…how motivated she has been this fall…” He noted competition among teammates as positive motivation.
Regarding new recruits Elisabeth Creighton and Cecilia Pizzinato: “The two girls we brought in this year are technically strong … They’re obviously young … They have time to grow.” He pointed out that having many seniors allows freshmen time to develop without immediate pressure.
On recruiting strategy he explained: “It depends on what pieces of … roster we’re losing every year … Typically we try bring athletes with Europa Cup [and] World Cup experience then match them with local talent…”
This season marks an important milestone for Rasanen’s tenure: “This is our first real group of athletes that we recruited … we’ve found same wave length … culture is definitely where we want it.”
Looking ahead at expectations for both women’s and men’s squads he stated: “On women’s side especially … six seven eight girls can compete can win … On boys side … Pietro [Motterlini] took big step … Christian [Soevik] came back with swagger he was kind lacking last year.”
Summing up his outlook for 2026 he added: “I think we’re mostly excited see how our athletes will perform … Just get going get kids racing … For us see hard work pay off … Hopefully March stand on podium as high as possible.”
The collegiate campaign begins January 4-9 with Nordic-only RMISA Invitational at Lake Placid; alpine competition starts January 12-15 at Eldora Mountain Resorts/Loveland Ski Area.
