– If it works well this winter until next season, I will make it even more specific. Then I can play with the biggest boys, says Petter Northug to news. During Toppidrettsveka, he beat, among others, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Erik Valnes on the 54-kilometer. Barely three minutes after Max Novak went in for victory at Hitra, Northug crossed the finish line to 38th place. The string rumbled in the last mile, but the former ski king was still more than six minutes closer to the top than last year. – It went a little better this year, grins Northug – and continues: – I took it a bit easy at the end when I was alone. I managed to hold on until the last hill, but I have too little capacity and then it will be brutal on the last hill. HEAVY: Petter Northug after the 54th kilometer during Top Sports Week at Hitra. Photo: news – I have the “punch” Now he believes that three to four months of specific training are needed to close the gap to the stake elite in the world. He will give it a try. – I’m going to train a lot. And then I train with Petter Skinstad, so we have set aside a month for a meeting in October to November. I hope to train well then and raise my capacity a bit. That’s what I need, says Northug, before he explains what is required: – I have the “punch” in strike, but I need to be a little more thoroughly trained. Then I become disgusting to be associated with, says Northug. Northug managed a trip to McDonald’s before he traveled on to the 48 kilometer long Alliansloppet in Sweden. With him on the road, he received a couple of encouraging words from news expert Torgeir Bjørn. – It doesn’t take much to impress the commentators there. When you approach the age of 40, you get bragging rights just by wearing your race number. I tried to get on the letter track and used a lot of energy along the way. In the last ten, the elastic looked rough. – What is the big goal? – The big goal is to keep the belly in and stay in shape. Join and have a start number on your chest. In the Alliansloppet, still number 22, just 12 seconds behind Calle Halfvarsson, wins. STRONG: Petter Northug’s stake and speed qualities are still there. Now he just needs a little capacity. Photo: MATHIAS BERGELD / BILDBYRÅN Now long-distance runner Anders Aukland believes that Northug can sail up as a real favorite in certain long-distance races already this coming winter. Right up there among the world’s elite, Anders Aukland is investing in cross-country skiing himself, and rejoices that Northug is now making a comeback on the ski track. – It is already a success. I have always wanted him to bet properly on long-distance running, says Aukland to news. LAST SEASON: In the autumn, Aukland turns 50, and enters his last season as a long-distance runner. He hopes Northug will follow suit. Photo: Ulf Palm / TT / NTB He has absolute faith that Northug’s plan to become more thoroughly trained can bear fruit. – Yes, absolutely. Training is fresh. He is still young, and it has not been many years since he was the best in the world. With half a year of very serious training, he can fight for victory in some races, he says. Aukland, on the other hand, does not believe that Northug can win all kinds of long-distance races. – He will probably struggle in the heaviest chutes, such as the Birken and those with opposite slopes. But in slower races, such as the Vasaloppet, he can really become a candidate for the winner, he says. – Why not all of them? – He lacks turbo and capacity, but he has speed and striking, and that is a lot of what the long race is about. People can laugh at Northug and what he has done on roller skis, but the truth is that he is right up there among the world’s elite in parts of cross-country skiing, such as striking, says Aukland and continues: – I am impressed, myself.
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– Then I will be disgusting to be involved in – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
