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HAFJELL (Dagbladet): Heidi Weng isn’t just one of the best cross-country skiers in the world; She is also the Norwegian champion and is probably one of the world’s elite in downhill racing.
Heidi’s older sister Merete Weng has also represented Norway in the Downhill World Cup and has done quite well. Heidi is even better, but she has never tested her strength in a World Cup. Neither did Therese Johaug, who according to Weng would become world champion in downhill racing if she competed.
But now Heidi Weng has found another new sport that she loves: cycling on the road.
The 29-year-old from Ytre Enebakk now trains 20 hours of cycling a month. This takes the training over from Johaug’s direction and his great amount of race training against Helene Marie Fossesholm and his great involvement in cycling training.
– I have become very addicted to cycling. Now it’s almost like you want to take part in some bike rides, but you don’t. I can’t pedal downhill, Heidi Weng tells Dagbladet.
– But yes, I have put more cycling in training. I have cycled 20 hours a month.
– Why have you started cycling so much?
– My sister is with a Uno-X cycling coach. So I have to keep up with the bike. I have to keep up with the Tour de France and when Uno-X travels. Otherwise, I will hear it. I don’t have to look at everything, but I keep going. Also, I think it’s fun.
– Do you notice any muscle changes after switching to more cycling in your basic training?
– Not well. I haven’t pedaled that far. There are mostly recovery sessions and shorter trips.
– Everyone laughs at me.
Challenging the talented Helene Marie Fossesholm on the bike seat, however, is not something Weng wants to embark on.
– I don’t bother challenging Helene, no. I am more on the road, while she rides a mountain bike. I’m not going to brag about anything, because I have a sister who is very good at cycling, says Ytre Enebakk’s cross-country profile.
– I have to practice more downhill and I lack technique. Everyone laughs at me, at those who look at me. I have no technique. I feel better than I seem.
Weng goes on to say that he imagines competing in Lillehammer-Oslo on the bike seat and perhaps playing football at a lower level, when his ski career is over.
– Feels like 18 years old
The time after life as an elite athlete can leave a void for many who do not find new meaning in life, recently exemplified through Petter Northug.
– I don’t know how it will be. I’m used to being active all the time, whether it’s cross country or something else. “I guess I usually say that I will never do like my mother, but I will still be like my mother and I will have to go out and train all the time,” Weng tells Dagbladet with a smile.
– Cycling, soccer or some other activity that I imagine I want to do. I think that will be my thing. What else will I do after my ski career, I don’t know. I don’t know what everyday life will be like, because I’m used to doing the same thing.
– That’s probably why I feel like I’m 18 years old, because I’ve done the same thing all my life, since then, says Weng and smiles.
As a child, Weng was a promising handball player in a two-team match with his girlfriend and cousin Martine Ek Hagen.
Growing up, the great pride of Ytre Enebakk formed a pair of radars at Driv Idrettslag together with her best friend and third cousin Martine Ek Hagen until the eighth grade. They then chose to put aside their handball career and focus everything on cross-country skiing.
Sunk after leaden message
Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen has previously said that she believes Heidi Weng can work very well in the healthcare system with all her empathy and care after her ski career, such as working with older people.
– Heidi has great empathy and is caring. I hope that one day I will work in the health system, preferably with older people. Heidi has a lot of love in her and one day she will be a fantastic mother, Jacobsen said.
At that moment, Weng replied:
– Yes No. I haven’t thought about it much for some reason, but we’ll see. That’s what I’ve done now, but we’ll see.
Impressed with Bjørgen
Heidi Weng is impressed with how Marit Bjørgen has managed to stay fit right after her cross country run, as is Heidi’s mother May Bente.
I had gallons of fluid on my legs
– When Marit bet, she was the best in the world, but I think what she shows now is also impressive. It will be exciting to see it in winter, says Weng.
Lately he has had intervals of play with Bjørgen, but is not surprised by the high level of the 40-year-old.
– No, it wasn’t surprisingly strong. She was as strong as expected. Marit is still tough. I have a mother in her 50s who is still tenacious, recalls Weng.
– I have also had intervals with Martine (Ek Hagen). It’s been annoying how fit he’s been.
Johaug fooled by measure: – Lies
Disappointed with Karlsson
Bjørgen, who will go cross-country skiing for the winter, is still so out of the question that she beat Swedish ski favorite Frida Karlsson in a duel on TV 2’s “Landskampen” broadcast.
– Then I thought: it should have been the opposite, says Weng, before pointing:
– But Marit is strong and has done it before.
– Weren’t you afraid of Frida?
– No … I had thought that it would be better than Marit. But Marit is raw and tough, then.
