– I have a tactical problem, Slind admits to news on Tuesday. The 35-year-old from Oppdal used the rest day in the Tour de Ski to test the slopes in Davos, and definitely not just the route where the tour continues with a sprint on Wednesday. Slind was more excited about the track for Thursday’s 20 km long hunt start in classic style. It is not held on the traditional World Cup courses, but on much gentler terrain. This brings us to Slind’s problem: – It is whether I should go on strike or join a party. ON SHOT: Astrid Øyre Slind is only a few seconds behind Victoria Carl in second place in the summary. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – Can be destroyed The Team Aker Dæhlie runner has for a number of years focused on long-distance running. There, it has become quite common to go without lubrication on shiny skis, i.e. pure staking. A few years ago, it was also on its way to the World Cup. Then the International Ski Federation (FIS) introduced no-strike zones in classic races in the World Cup. It will also be Thursday, and then Slind may have to fly fishbones. – What speaks for and what stands against going without a party? – What speaks against it is that it is a risk to do something no one else is doing. A tour summary can be ruined if it turns out to be not so smart, says Slind. But then she knows that there is probably no one else in the world who can follow her in the slow sections of staking on bare skis. LONG-RUNNING STAR: Astrid Øyre Slind has been one of the world’s best in the long-running circus for several seasons. Here she is pictured after she beat Therese Johaug (th) in the sprint in the Birkebeiner race in 2022. Photo: Alexander Sundal Skjerven / NTB – Can take mass and decide – Maybe my strength is striking, that I’m used to running races with shiny skis and is good at walking it both uphill and on easy terrain. If it then becomes a bit tricky and it pays off like crazy to go with shiny skis, then I can suddenly take mass and decide it, says Astrid Øyre Slind. She is in fifth place after three of seven stages, 50 seconds behind Jessie Diggins. But Victoria Carl in second place is only three seconds behind. None of the Norwegian men’s runners news has spoken to thinks about the same thing as Slind. – Absolutely not, says Jan Thomas Jenssen, who is number three in the tour summary. – But I understand that she is considering it, because I think she can abuse the rest of the gang when she gets there with that upper body of hers, he says. – Twice as strong One of the world’s best classic skiers, Pål Golberg, points out that he doesn’t even have a ski park that allows it. – Astrid is twice as strong as me, points out the leader among the men, Harald Østberg Amundsen. THINKS SLIND IS STRONGER: Harald Østberg Amundsen thinks Slind is the strongest of the two. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB The only person who can think along the same lines as Slind is Erik Valnes. But that can only happen under very special circumstances. – If I go out alone in close quarters with no strong distance runners around me or at a certain distance, and I have to drive hard alone, then it may become relevant, he says. Valnes also believes that Slind has significantly better opportunities to succeed with such tactics than he does. – She is unbelievably good at striking and very hardened to go hard for a long time. I’m more trained to go skiing, up and down, balls, and here and there. That is the challenge for many of the rest of us, but not for her, because she is well trained in it. Not even Astrid Øyre Slind is sure that anything will come of the stunt. – We’ll see, then, how tough I am. But it is very stackable. If it had been a single race, I would have tried, because then it would have been rough to watch, she states. For some it costs more than others… 00:29 – It’s a banger! 01:05 Last chess: Here Torstein Bae is pushed off the cliff 02:23 Gets a fit of laughter at the flag blunder: – It’s sick! 01:00 Show more
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– Can outwit the rest of the gang – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
