– He reads me damn well. – Is it irritable? – Yes. Jan Thomas Jenssen has to smile when he talks about his relationship with his coach, Kristian Skrødal. The two met eleven years ago, when Jenssen was a student at the ski gymnasium in Meråker. Eventually, they developed a very special relationship. Now Jenssen gives the coach a large part of the credit for the fact that, at the age of 27, he has finally made his international breakthrough as a skier. During the World Cup opening in Ruka, he took his first individual World Cup victory. The following weekend, he substituted as anchorman in the relay. As a matter of course, he led Norway to victory. “Who’s the champ,” he roared as he crossed the finish line. From being a fairly unknown skier, he is suddenly one of Norway’s strongest cards when the Tour de Ski begins in Toblach on Saturday. You can follow and listen to the opening race here. THE BREAKTHROUGH: On 26 November, Jan Thomas Jenssen took his first World Cup victory, when he won the joint start in Ruka. Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Reuters The decisive conversation The situation would probably have been completely different had it not been for the way Skrødal intervened when Team Elon Midt-Norge had a meeting in Swedish Idre two weeks before the national season opener at Beitostølen. – I had done a test run. And it had gone very badly, says Jenssen. When they got back to the apartment, he sank into his chair. Then coach Skrødal took the floor. “Jan Thomas, now you are tired,” he said. “No, I’m not, I’m pretty good,” was the answer the coach got. IMPORTANT MAN: Kristian Skrødal helps Jan Thomas Jenssen to make the right choices at the right time. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB But Skrødal did not give up. “I see it in you,” he said. Jan Thomas Jenssen really had to feel it. Reluctantly it came: “Yes, okay. I can feel it now. That now I’m tired.” The message from Skrødal was then resoundingly clear: “Go home and rest.” – Authoritarian As said, so done. Two weeks later, Jenssen appeared at Beitostølen and went straight into the World Cup team. – Could it be this type of conversation that makes you actually sit here and have won a World Cup race now, that you did the right things then? – Absolutely. Absolutely. Undoubtedly. It is important, and Kristian should be very proud of that, that he dares to say what he thinks, says Jenssen. TOOK TIME: It took Jan Thomas Jenssen 27 years to reach the top of the world. Photo: Anders SKjerdingstad / news – He is a person who is authoritarian, and I can be a little afraid of him at times. If he really tightens up, then I listen to what he says, so to speak, he elaborates. – I am a tall person with a beard, so it can certainly be perceived that way, says Kristian Skrødal when news confronts him with the student’s description. – But I think honesty is somewhat important in the game we play. If you don’t dare to be honest, I think development stops a bit, says Skrødal. – Offensive to dare to say no He remembers the conversation in Idre well, and reveals that it is not the first time he has had such a conversation with the keen Hommelvik runner. At times, Jenssen has been too eager. – We have a philosophy on our team that it is offensive to train a lot, but then it is offensive to dare to say no and dare to hold back as well, says Skrødal. Jenssen understands perfectly well what the coach is talking about. – Top athletes often do not want to rest. They want to train, he states. The fact that he has now managed to change this mentality, he believes, is due to the mutual trust relationship with Kristian Skrødal, which has been built up over years. – I see a difference from Jan Thomas from three years ago, he didn’t have the courage to take the steps that have meant that I have gotten back on the plus side, because he would rather have trained more to get even closer to those who are even better than him, says Jan Thomas Jenssen with a mixture of first and third person. Afraid of losing Now the big challenge is how to get Skrødal to follow him up. As long as Jenssen stays in the World Cup, they don’t see much of each other. – I am afraid that I will lose him from the team next year, and I know that is a bit boring, says Skrødal, who means that the student will probably end up in the national team after the season. – But it is my job to get him further, and we have aimed to get him in the national team in the season before the WC on home ground, with the advantage it gives to qualify. Because the big goal is without a doubt the WC on home ground in Granåsen in winter. There, Jan Thomas Jenssen is betting on doing so well that he can afford to realize his next crazy dream – to become the world’s best farmer.
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