One percent was the number Petter Northug raised with news last year about the chances of making it to the World Cup in 2025 at home in Trondheim. On Wednesday, there was no top position when Toppidrettsveka opened with a long run, where a broken pole just before the finish meant that it eventually ended in 31st place. Despite that, Northug was well pleased with the answers he received. – The road is terribly, terribly long. Now they dust off statues of Johaug and many who try their hand. As long as the body responds, I take the small, small percentage with me to the training routine and enjoy it, Northug said on Wednesday. – Is there only a one percent chance of participating in the WC? – Maybe 2.2 per cent today, replied Northug. – 31st place does not get you to the WC Eirik Myhr Nossum, coach for the Norwegian men on the elite national team, is quick to downgrade Northug in connection with the sprint on Thursday evening – a sprint Northug himself overcame. – He has always been positive on his own behalf, Petter. When a 31st place means that the chance increases… It is important to be positive, I think, says Nossum to news with a smile. COACH AND STUDENT: Eirik Myhr Nossum (left) knows Petter Northug (right) well. Here from 2014, when Nossum was coach for Northug. Photo: NTB The national team coach was himself a personal trainer for Northug in the 2013/14 season and knows the trønder well. He adds that he hears that Northug is training well, but that time will tell if it is enough. – How seriously do you take what he says? – Yes, how seriously should you take something Petter Northug says in the goal area after breaking a stick? I put myself under 2.2 percent. I was better than Petter at mathematics in primary school. I think I’ll sleep around one, says Nossum – still with a smile on his face. – You go down to one? – Yes, 31st place does not get you to the WC, says Nossum, and adds: – There are few medals and places for the WC that are awarded in 31st places. You can watch Friday’s and Saturday’s races from Toppidrettsveka on news. – Petter’s inner dream Father John Northug was present during the race at Hitra. In the area where the athletes change after the competition, he heard his son’s statements. DOES NOT CANCEL HIS SON: John Northug believes his son may have problems qualifying for the WC in Trondheim. But don’t rule anything out. Photo: NTB – Northug says the chances have gone from one to 2.2 per cent. How should we interpret it? – It’s probably Petter’s inner dream. But my assessment is that he cannot go that many races quickly, so that he qualifies. I don’t think he will be able to qualify. That is my honest answer, he told news on Wednesday. – Don’t you think he will do everything to achieve it then? – Yes. Under the assumption that it is really his inner dream, he will do it. Probably needs podium places in the World Cup Nossum points out that Northug will probably have to both qualify for the World Cup and enter several podium places there if he is to have a WC opportunity. – Do you think he can surprise again? – If I am to be optimistic on his behalf, I think the chance is one percent that he can surprise us positively. Then there is a 99 percent chance that he will surprise us negatively, if you interpret my quotes correctly, says Nossum. Bjørn keeps the door open news’s expert commentator Torgeir Bjørn points out the same thing as Northug himself – the road is long. But not impossible. – Actually, he is not trained well enough, but when it comes to Petter, I keep the door open, because he has such extreme qualities, says Bjørn. OPTIMISTIC: news expert Torgeir Bjørn keeps the door open for Petter Northug. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad / news He continues: – He has a competitive mind that no one else has. He showed that most recently during the NM in Lillehammer in March. In the men’s team sprint in the NM in Lillehammer, Northug went deep into the basement when he took a strong silver medal, together with his brother Even Northug, behind Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Didrik Tønseth. – Petter Northug in 2024 is better than when he quit, news commentator Jann Post concluded at the time. But what Northug and the entire Norwegian skiing public really dream of is to see Klæbo and Northug under the same umbrella at a team sprint in the WC, Bjørn points out. – It would beat everything in a World Cup in Trondheim, and then it is gratifying that he has now doubled his chances of getting to the World Cup, says Bjørn, referring to Northug’s own statement. Must qualify The question now is where Northug will look in the future. He is scheduled to run the chutes in Granåsen during Toppidrettsveka on Friday and Saturday, but it is uncertain whether he will compete at the national season opener at Beitostølen in November. When asked by VG about when it will be clear whether he will stand there, Northug answered quickly: – Two or three days before probably, I know myself right. Published 16.08.2024, at 09.26
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National team coach Eirik Myhr Nossum with a clear WC message to Petter Northug – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
