215 participants from 24 nations had found their way to Sjusjøen to get a jump start on the winter season. On Monday, a classic sprint was on the programme. And in glorious sunshine, the sprint king himself, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, was on hand to shine and share his best advice. He admitted that he would prefer to be on the starting line. But right now he has to be patient. An injury to the back of his thigh means he cannot train as planned, at least not until September. – Things are going as they are now. There hasn’t been much progress so far. I have been told that it takes time and that is something I am prepared for. Now I just have to be patient and stick with it, says the cross-country skier to news. – How did the injury occur? – It actually came overnight. I was going out for a run one day, and on that run it slowly but surely got worse. That’s how it came. We have not found any explanation as to why it has turned out the way it has. I don’t intend to spend so much time on that either. I would have done the same again. It’s part of the game. We balance on a knife’s edge and train a lot. Maybe this is a form of wear and tear, who knows, he replies. SURROUNDED: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo made time for young talents in search of advice and a selfie with the skiing star. Photo: Fredrik Tombra / news – Has ice in his stomach And worst of all – the muscle is absolutely central if he is to utilize his main weapon in the WC sprint in the classic: the Klæbo split. Klæbo believes that going classic diagonal is now almost impossible. – I can’t start it (Klæbo-klyvet) yet. Then I would probably have been stuck on the ground. I’m probably a long way from that. I probably wouldn’t have won a ski race in the shape I’m in now. I hope it subsides slowly but surely and that I can get going again. Because when the man from Trønder hunts for his fifth straight championship gold in the WC sprint in Planica, it happens in classic style. Still, he is not worried before the World Cup. – I have enough ice in my stomach for so long. I try to live a bit week to week now. I actually have a stay at altitude that was planned towards the end of the month. I will do another round now on Friday with evaluation and with another check. Then it will really be like this right up until just before the height, whether we travel or not. It will be the next important decision to make, says the cross-country coach. Not worried National team manager Eirik Nossum is not worried about the Trønder before the start of the WC in Slovenia. – As of now, I do not know the extent of the damage and the severity of it. It’s not white (snow) here yet and neither is Planica. I will be surprised if he is a rounding buoy in Planica. I think he is a “man to beat” there and, he says to news. HOPEFUL: Nossum is sure that Klæbo, together with his support staff, will get through the injury well. Photo: Fredrik Tombra Nossum nevertheless understands that Klæbo is frustrated. – Injury and illness are part of top sport. The person who is most frustrated is of course him. He is not designed to sit still or do anything other than what is planned. What characterizes singles, which he definitely is, is that he is terribly good at making wise choices when things first happen.
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