Tiril Udnes Weng has just finished the last interval session before leaving for Planica. After finishing the session in Val di Fiemme with a lap on the ski slope at the stadium, the World Cup leader skates in the direction of news’s camera. – The Swedes are the rounding buoys, she says with a smile, and glances back at the green, yellow and red plastic cones she has just swung around. A couple of hours later, Stig Rune Kveen hears about the episode. He smiles, he too. – When you get a comment like that from Tiril, I feel genuinely warm and happy inside, because then they have the right focus a short week before the WC, says the national team coach. Shouting Swedish names Throwing some messages at the Swedes before the World Cup may sound like casual humor. And of course there is humor in it. IN NORWEGIAN THOUGHTS: Frida Karlsson takes it as a positive sign that she is the one the Norwegian rivals want to beat. Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / news But when Kveen gets warm inside, it is because the Norwegian women’s team has used the rivalry with Sweden systematically throughout the training season. During hard sessions, Kveen has roared out verbal lighter fluid when the need has arisen. – Then some Swedish women’s names may appear. It can do that. It looks like it’s working, he confirms. “Frida Karlsson”, “Ebba Andersson”, “Jonna Sundling” or “Maja Dahlqvist” can be heard among the trees when Tiril Udnes Weng, Anne Kjersti Kalvå and the rest of the Norwegian women’s national team must use up their last strength on the elk farm interval. It is meant as a reminder. – There are some competitors there who also do a good training job, so we must not lie on the lazy side, he points out. POINTS TO THE SWEDES: Stig Rune Kveen has adopted a Northug trick to make Heidi Weng and the other Norwegian cross-country women go even faster. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Northug method He has brought the method with him from his time as personal trainer for Petter Northug. – It was often that some Dario Cologna stanzas, or Johan Olsson, came hurling. I think that’s important, so that you become a little more sharp and make an extra good effort, says Kveen. – It is clear that it will ignite, and we have the Swedes with us in most of what we do. We want to beat them, so it’s clear that when he throws things like that, there will be a bit of extra adrenaline, says Anne Kjersti Kalvå. – So you confirm that you cultivate the rivalry with Sweden? – Of course we do! – Think more about them than they think about us – I think mostly about myself, really, but I think it’s motivating to have some Swedes in the back of my mind when things start to drag on, says Tiril Udnes Weng, who confirms that it appeared up some Swedish names in the back of my mind at the session in Val di Fiemme. – I think we may think more of them than they think of us, they may not have feared us so much, she smiles. THE TEAM TO BEAT: Jonna Sundling, Emma Ribom, Linn Svahn, Frida Karlsson, Johanna Hagström, Maja Dahlqvist and Moa Ilar. Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / news That theory seems to hold true when news tells the Swedish stars about the Norwegian motivation method. – Yes, she is probably a bit on track there, says Ebba Andersson, who has won the last three distance races in the World Cup before the WC. – Do you do the same? – It’s not just Norway I’m competing against, she points out. – Sign that we are strong – It is probably a sign that we are strong, that they are thinking about us, says Frida Karlsson. – Do you ever use it as motivation to have a competitor in your head during training? – No, not actually. I probably train mostly against myself. – For my own part, I always try to beat myself. It’s always been that way, no matter what level I’ve been at, says Jonna Sundling, who is the reigning sprint champion in both the WC and the Olympics. – Do you think it might be stupid for the Norwegians to focus on that? – That it is stupid of them? If it works for them, then it is absolutely right, states Sundling. Linn Svahn completely agrees with that. – If it’s their way of going fast, it’s absolutely perfect. Ski competitions are no fun if everyone doesn’t go as fast as they can. In the media, the Norwegians have been written off a bit before the season, which I did not believe. We always thought they were going to go fast. It has been impressive to see them sitting in the yellow vests. They are really strong, she says to news. – Sweden are the biggest favorites Although the Swedes have dominated throughout the season, as expected, Stig Rune Kveen is positively surprised by how well Norway has managed. LIKES THE METHOD: Anne Kjersti Kalvå feels Kveen’s grip is working. Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / news – We’re sitting here a week before the WC with 19 podium places and three victories, and we hadn’t quite believed in exactly that this summer. There has been a lot of enthusiasm in the group and a very development-focused group, and the results reflect that, says Kveen, before he puts the pressure on Sweden in Planica. – Sweden are the biggest favorites for all the distances in the WC, I would say. But with the background that we have as many podium places as we have this winter, we are certainly capable of participating and fighting for those medals. – After all, they are the biggest favorites for many of the distances, so it is clear that I think a lot about the Swedes. And that is motivating, states Tiril Udnes Weng. For the record: So far this season, Emma Ribom, Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson and Jonna Sundling have collected 13 World Cup victories for Sweden. Tiril Udnes Weng, Lotta Udnes Weng and Kristine Stavås Skistad took one each for Norway. On Thursday, the WC begins with the Swedes’ strongest exercise, the sprint. Jonna Sundling, Linn Svahn, Maja Dahlqvist and Emma Ribom are the five Swedish women Tiril Udnes Weng, Lotta Udnes Weng, Kristine Stavås Skistad and Anna Svendsen will try to beat.
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– The Swedes are the rounding buoys – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
