– He is a strong contributor to a good mood, and then he is responsible for the agricultural half-hour. This is how national team coach Eirik Myhr Nossum answers news’s question about what has become of Jan Thomas Jenssen’s role on the Norwegian World Cup team. Exactly one week after the 27-year-old from Hommelvik entered as a reserve and took his first individual World Cup victory in Ruka, he struck in his first attempt as Norwegian anchorman in the relay. Inspired by his role model Petter Northug, he parked Swedish Edvin Anger in the last kilometer. “Who’s the champ” roared Jenssen when he crossed the finish line in solitary majesty in Gällivare. Lua på snei In between the two triumphs, he sat down with news to talk a little about himself, with the victory in Ruka fresh in his mind. There, too, he roared his joy in the goal area. Then the world got to see and hear more of his trademarks. A little vomiting after the effort. A little slang in the English interviews. A bit of cursing in the Norwegian interviews. The wispy moustache. And hat on snow. – I had difficulty answering for myself, because everything happened so quickly. People tore and struggled with me, and I had to go to the press and had to be on the prize podium and I don’t really remember much of it, says Jan Thomas Jenssen. He has no problem talking about any of the aforementioned brands. Letting his ears stick out from under his hat is something he learned from his father – and old cross-country legends. – Sture Sivertsen and that gang there, they never had hats over their ears, says Jenssen. NEW FAVORITE: It took Jan Thomas Jenssen 27 years to become the one cross-country fans asked for an autograph on his hat. Photo: Anders SKjerdingstad / news Trassbart and banishment The beard is of recent date. It’s defiant, he reveals. The roommate didn’t like the small attempt and, according to Jenssen, gave strict instructions that it should be removed. So then he decided to let it grow. – She doesn’t think it’s pretty. So it’s fun to be a little “little troll”. I would have liked to have had a fuller and slightly more colorful moustache, I think, so that it would have really shown, but I don’t have that kind of beard growth, unfortunately, he smiles. He is also very aware that a swear word sneaks in every now and then. Jenssen says that his aunt, who is a Norwegian teacher, has tried to pick it out of him, but that he is not particularly willing to learn in the matter. – It goes in one ear and out the other. It must be allowed to show some emotion. And when it boils in my head, I don’t weigh my words so carefully. Then I speak from the heart, and then it just has to be what it is. I try not to come up with the worst power volleys. But if it happens, it happens, says the most recent World Cup winner. WINNING TEAM: Jan Thomas Jenssen (back right) won the relay in Gällivare together with Simen Hegstad Krüger, Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget and Pål Golberg. Photo: Ulf Palm / AP Trønderengelsk On the other hand, he would like to have a little more control over English. In Ruka, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo approached him in the goal area with a small message. – “Jan Thomas, now you have to speak English”, he said, and then he grinned. So I just thought “that time, that sorrow”. It didn’t go more than average. There was a lot of “Trønder English”, he admits. It was fine then. He is less satisfied that there was also a lot of “Trønder English” in a meeting with a ski supplier the following day. He is unsure if they understood everything he was trying to convey. – I have to watch a few more series and brush up on my vocabulary a bit, because it can get better, I know that myself, he says, and admits that he didn’t have much “rest in his ass” in English lessons at school. – But is it important? – It is important to make yourself understood, I think, and then you can take it from there. Vomited five times before the start – Now he is known for a victory in the World Cup, but before today he was best known for spit clips on VGTV, Didrik Tønseth told news when Jan Thomas Jenssen won in Ruka. That he almost always throws up after skiing is a fact that Jenssen has no problems relating to. But it’s something he definitely has to deal with, and it’s not about the attention he gets for it. The problem is that he throws up nutrients the body needs. It was even worse earlier in his career, when he also often threw up from nervousness before competitions. Jenssen believes it may have played a part in ruining the Tour de Ski debut in 2019/20. Before the one run, he threw up five times. – Then I realized that I only had to eat with both hands, he says. Jan Thomas Jenssen took his first World Cup win in Ruka, before that he was best known for vomiting. First gold, then farm What is only now becoming a trademark is that he skates first across the finish line in cross-country skiing at the very highest level. It took 27 years to get there, but it’s happening at just the right time. The World Cup on home soil next winter has been the big goal since Trondheim started applying. – The dream is primarily to stand at the top of a podium in Trondheim in February 2025. That is the goal, absolutely. And that is the dream, says Jan Thomas Jenssen. He also has another dream, which explains why national team coach Nossum calls him responsible for the “agricultural half hour”. – That is my second goal in life, to become the world’s best farmer, I have said. And that requires a lot, he says. ANCHORMAN: When Johannes Høsflot Klæbo reported failure, Jan Thomas Jenssen took responsibility as Norwegian anchorman. Photo: Ulf Palm / NTB Jenssen comes from a farm, but it is the eldest sister who has the honor. She also has ambitions to run. Thus, Jan Thomas Jenssen must enter the market if he is to realize his ambition as a farmer. – That is the next dream, to try to find a farm that you can actually make a living from, he says. Then it is a good thing that he has settled in at the top of the podium and that he has finally started to make money from his skiing life. – So here it’s about skiing fast and getting the money for a farm. That’s a bit of motivation in itself.
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