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Henrik Kristoffersen had to be beaten year after year by his fiercest rival, Marcel Hirscher. When the Austrian put the skis on the shelf, it was his teammate who prevented the Norwegian’s big dream.
The 26-year-old from Rælingen has delivered great results since the breakthrough in 2013, and improved the prize cabinet after last season with the overall winner in both downhill and giant slalom.
With him she won her first giant slalom title, but her second in the favorite slalom discipline.
I got a tip from Aamodt
Kristoffersen was just 161 points behind his teammate Aleksander Aamodt Kilde in the World Cup overall, but he thinks the combined ball doesn’t necessarily have to be a big goal in this year’s season.
– I’ve tried to win it for so many years. If you look at my list of merits, I have earned most of what you can earn, except the Olympic ball and gold, Kristoffersen tells Nettavisen.
– What makes the general cup unsuccessful?
– I don’t know, it’s a lot. The best thing to do is win at cross-country skiing and cross the finish line as the fastest. I’d rather win ten races a year without the ball than the opposite. At the same time, the probability of winning it is quite high, if I also win ten races, he says firmly.
Kjetil Andre Aamodt. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB
The slalom specialist further says that he received good advice from Kjetil André Aamodt a couple of years ago.
– Kjetil André told me during an NM competition in Narvik a few years ago that I didn’t have to think too much about the overall title, and I thought I should focus on winning as much skiing as possible.
TEAM FRIENDS BUT RIVALS: Henrik Kristoffersen and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (far right) battled for the combined ball last season.
Image: John Popper (TTT)
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Before the opening of the World Cup in Sölden, the Norwegian star can talk about a good summer of training, despite the Covid 19 pandemic.
– In fact, things have gone relatively according to plan, and the bare field training has worked well, Kristoffersen tells Nettavisen ahead of this weekend’s competitions.
– Have things been different from before?
– The biggest difference is probably that I have put on a bit of weight, but otherwise I have managed to maintain the routines. I haven’t had a chance to go on vacation properly so there has been a lot of training. Which, of course, is positive, he laughs.
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However, you have to admit that it took you a little longer to plan your sessions than you were used to.
– We do not practice a sport like soccer, which has its usual training ground and is there all the time. I have to pay attention to others on the slopes where I look for snow and therefore I have a higher risk of infection. So first and foremost are other people that I can infect.
– Were you ever afraid of the cancellation of the season?
– No, I guess I haven’t been. I’m getting older and hopefully smarter, so I haven’t spent as much time thinking about the consequences of a possible cancellation. He hadn’t been able to do anything about it anyway, Kristoffersen continues.
2018 Olympic Games: Henrik Kristoffersen with silver medal (left) and Marcel Hirscher of Austria with gold medal in Giant Slalom at Pyeongchang Medal Square in Pyeongchang during the 2018 Olympic Games. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB
– The duels with Hirscher were an honor
One of the greatest mountaineers of all time, Marcel Hirscher, left his skis on the shelf before last season and made it easier for his Norwegian rival to take the throne. Kristoffersen, for his part, must admit that he misses the Austrian in the World Cup circus.
– It was an honor to ski against Marcel who, along with Ingemar Stenmark, is the best of all time. We lose a person in the field who had enormous authority, so you miss him a bit after he gave up, he brags about his fiercest competitor for many years.
With Hirscher out of the World Cup circus, both Kristoffersen and his teammate Aleksander Aamodt Kilde battled for the combined ball in the end.
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He won the latter with 161 points over Kristoffersen. He thinks it is difficult to compare them with other Norwegian alpine duos, such as Kjetil André Aamodt and Lasse Kjus or Kjetil Jansrud and Aksel Lund Svindal.
– We drive in completely different disciplines so it will be a bit different than eg Aamodt and Kjus. We will do our best to fight for the ball this season as well, but there are many other good ones. Krichmayer and Austria have a lot to take revenge, too, of course, Pinturault will be there again, he concludes.
The opening of the World Cup for mountaineers kicks off next weekend in Sölden, Austria, with a giant slalom for women on Saturday and men on Sunday.
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