Cross-country skier Mårten Skinstad scolded the race director – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule

– Why it is graveled every time it is filled with snow, I don’t understand. In all other artificial snow slopes throughout the world, you will see nothing. Here you can count stones per square metre. You can stand and grin and be haughty. You are the person in the whole of ski-Norway that I have the least respect for. That’s what an enraged Mårten Skinstad said after finishing his prologue on Beitostølen, where he is said to have broken his pole after stuffing it into a hole in the trail. – So much, yes. I’d be happy to have a chat about it afterwards. I’d be happy to have a professional chat with you, race director Torbjørn Broks Pettersen replied. Shortly after the finish, there was drama and harsh words. Skinstad was very unsatisfied with the event, and race director Torbjørn Broks Pettersen went down hard. He reacted to the fact that there were rocks and holes in the track and thus fired all plugs at the organizer. GOT SHUT UP: Race leader Torbjørn Broks Pettersen. Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / news news has been on the trail and checked the conditions. Pebbles have been found, but not as many as it might seem in the heated exchange of words. THE TRAIL: Some pebbles have been observed on the trail at Beitostølen. – I just have to apologize. We work with large flakes of artificial snow and occasionally there are some small holes in the track, which are just big enough for the pole to go down, and then the pole breaks. We have been out since 04.12 this morning to prepare and try to fix it. We have fixed most things, but obviously not everything. Mårten was unlucky and got the stick in such a hole. Then it breaks off, sorry, says Broks to news after being scolded by the cross-country runner. – Also, is there a lot of ice on the trail? – Yes. We work with crushed ice. We plan off the top seven centimeters. When people plow or skid, they push the snow away, so the last runners end up on a kind of skating ice in certain turns. This is how it is to work with artificial snow. Skinstad believes that there are too few warm-up opportunities on skis. He explains that they have 5.2 kilometers of snow and that five of them will be used as ski slopes. The remaining 200 meters will be used for testing. – They have to run to warm up. There are plenty of gravel paths to run on. That’s just the way it is, and that’s how it is in many other places in the world, says Pettersen. Skinstad did not have a good position in the prologue and was a long way from qualifying for the finals. He ended up 21 seconds behind Klæbo, who was the best in the prologue. Mårten Skinstad is the son of better-known WC manager Åge Skinstad, who was standing by when the tirade was unleashed. Published 22.11.2024, at 12.48 Updated 22.11.2024, at 12.59



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