– I think they are betting against the World Cup – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule

– I’m almost grinning, because I wake up every day with messages about the World Cup, about what will happen there, and what my plans for the World Cup are. Petter Northug smiles about racing with the sun, where he sits on a wooden chair 2,200 meters above sea level in the Eira pass. He has just been 400 meters lower and spent two hours leisurely skiing on an almost two kilometer long artificial snow loop in Livigno. Now he is talking to news about his plans for the winter. If one takes as a starting point what has been written in the media over the past six months – which has mainly been based on the old ski king’s own statements – one would think that these plans were about a WC comeback. ROUND ON ROUND: Petter Northug racks up kilometers and builds up blood volume at altitude in Italy. Photo: Henrik Myhr Nielsen / news – Impossible Instead, the 38-year-old tells a completely different story. – I imagine myself standing on the sidelines in Trondheim. I visualize that I will be on the podium in the Vasaloppet. That is the dream, he says. – Are you a little surprised that the talk of World Cup participation is spreading, or are you actually not surprised when you have sown the seed? – I’m a little surprised at how much “hype” there is and how many questions there are, he admits. And continued: – What I have said in Norway is one thing, but internationally it is perceived as my betting on the World Cup. So it’s a bit mixed. And I have several skiers, including in Russia, with whom I am in contact on WhatsApp. They think that I am betting against the World Cup through what they have read in Norwegian media, which is surely translated into their media. So there will be a lot of clean-up, then. – What do you say to them, then? – No, I say it as it is. That it will be impossible to qualify, so to say hopeless. But it doesn’t seem like it’s going in, he says, still smiling. SUN OVER LIFE: After several years of turbulence, Petter Northug is back in the life he likes best, as a top athlete. Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / news – Many soldiers who will fall Because that is where it stops for a potential WC participation. Petter Northug realizes that, as of today, many Norwegian runners are far better qualified than him to join Johannes Høsflot Klæbo on the Norwegian team sprint team in the WC. He also realizes that the possibility of sneaking past everyone before the World Cup draw is practically non-existent. Northug has given himself a one percent chance, and still stands by that assessment. – There are many soldiers who will fall in front of me before I stand in line there. That’s why it’s wrong of me to dream about something that seems so impossible, says the man who already has 13 WC gold medals in his collection. At the same time, he is no more modest than that he guarantees that it will be 14 if, against all odds, he should get the chance. THE BIGGEST NAME: The Northug brand stands out along the trail in Livigno. Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / news Guarantees gold – I can guarantee that there would have been WC gold if I had gone on the first stage, together with Johannes. I could also go to the second stage, he says, and grins again. He has trained alternately with Klæbo during his stay at high altitude in Italy. And even if he writes himself off in the context of the World Cup, and claims that it is the Vasaloppet he dreams of, he does not hide the fact that the first part of the season is set up to give the World Cup hypothesis a chance. He goes to the national season opener at Beitostølen, the Scandinavian Cup at Lillehammer – and adds another altitude stop before the NM, where the last WC train leaves. – Do you know that you give 100 percent to give the one percent a chance? – Yes, if I hadn’t gone long-distance running before Christmas. I want to show the people, and say with my heart on my hand, that I am trying for the one percent. That’s why I go all-round to the NM, nothing else. That’s why I’m at the height now. I promise nothing, but I hope I’ll be in good shape in mid-January and can ski fast, says Petter Northug. Published 07.11.2024, at 07.02



ttn-69