After Johannes Høsflot Klæbo failed to reach the 20th kilometer in Lillehammer on Sunday, a place opened up. Simen Hegstad Krüger got it, and it makes Mikael Gunnulfsen, who has been at Sjusjøen all week, see red. – It feels very unfair. I’ve been stuck on withdrawals in the past, and I felt that was the case last weekend, but this time there was a delay, and then I think it’s a direct mistake that I don’t get the chance, says Gunnulfsen to news. ANGRY AND SAD: Mikael Gunnulfsen. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB TV 2’s ski expert Petter Skinstad characterizes the selection as “downright badly done” and that “the Ski Association is killing careers”, after Gunnulfsen was once again left out. Gunnulfsen agrees. – It was a unique opportunity for me today, and I couldn’t have had a better chance for a top result. The association knows that I like and am good at the 20-kilometer joint start. This could really pave the way for me, says Gunnulfsen. He continues: – This is what can quickly make the difference between whether I become a broth runner or a top runner. It is one thing to qualify out of the World Cup, but now I have performed and gone fast enough. Then it is no longer fair, he says. TV 2 reported the case first. Angry news calls Gunnulfsen after he has just been on a long trip in the ski slopes at Lillehammer. – How do you feel now? – I feel a little hungry. Skied almost five miles today, says Gunnulfsen. – Have you released your aggression on the trail? – Yes, I couldn’t sit inside and grumble. But I was less talkative today than I have been on previous trips, for obvious reasons, he says. GET A CHANCE: Gunnulfsen from the national opening at Beitostølen. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB He thinks he can no longer sit still on the sofa. – The Ski Association already has major challenges. This is a trifle, but at the same time this is about my career. Despite everything, we do individual sports and I have to think about myself too, says Gunnulfsen, pointing to the fact that men’s cross-country skiing is currently superior. Now he hopes that the criticism will lead to more objective withdrawals in the future. – The twelve runners who will start today have all worked extremely hard and deserved it in their own way, but today I believe that I have been wrongly left out. I hope that arrangements will be made for more objective withdrawals, he says. Big chance news’s expert Torgeir Bjørn understands that Gunnulfsen feels wrongly left out. – I understand his frustration. It is of great importance to him, considering being able to walk five miles in the WC, and was an opportunity to show what he is good at, says Bjørn to news. Nevertheless, he understands the challenges the Ski Association faces. – On the one hand, I understand that national team coaches want to give the elite skiers optimal preparations for the championship, but the Ski Association has a responsibility for the whole of Ski Norway, says Bjørn. Reacting to statements Cross-country manager Espen Bjervig says that he understands Gunnulfsen’s frustration, but does not want to go into detail about the withdrawal. STUSSAR: Cross-country manager Espen Bjervig. Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / news – I fully understand that he may disagree with the withdrawal, but we have followed the guidelines and the information that we have to give, says Bjervig to news, and continues: – We make an overall assessment. Those who win the Norwegian Cup have a free pass to the subsequent World Cup. Beyond that, we have not said that the Norwegian Cup has a higher priority than, for example, Beitostølen. He clarifies that elite runners have priority in the World Cup this side of Christmas, simply because they are the ones who historically have gone the fastest. – But we actually have an impossible task. They are such good gentlemen that everyone has something to do here, says Bjervig. The head of cross-country skiing strongly disagrees with Petter Skinstad’s criticism that the Ski Association ruins careers. – I strongly disagree with Petter Skinstad on that. Then he can come up with suggestions for what we should do that won’t destroy careers, if he thinks so. In no way do I feel that we are ruining any careers. If you look around here now, with the breadth of Norwegian skiing, he says.
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