Klæbo leaves the World Cup until 2020 – Iversen does the same – VG

– I support what Johannes says and I can confirm that I will not run any races before Christmas, I prefer. I am also in charge of the Tour de Ski, says Emil Iversen to NRK.

– You lose energy. Now we have a golden opportunity to try another path to the championship. Johannes and I have only trained for the last six months and we were in good shape at Ruka so it works well for us. Perhaps there is a chance to be even more equipped to win the World Cup medals. Therefore, it is not worth taking the risk as it is now, says Iversen.

So he goes a step further than Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who said early Monday that he would leave the World Cup before the New Year, but would consider competing in the Tour de Ski.

– First we have to see if the Ski Tour is organized. So I have to consider if I participate. It will depend on the infection status, Klæbo says in a press release.

Klæbo says he has considered all the upcoming races; the national race in Lillehammer this weekend, then the World Cups in Davos and Dresden, and also the Tour de Ski, which is basically organized in the period from January 1 to 10, 2021.

Ulvang: – Not good

Klæbo came home to Trondheim on Sunday night after the opening of the World Cup this weekend in Ruka. At the start of Sunday’s hunt, he and Iversen battled for victory.

Then it was Klæbo who emerged victorious from the duel, while Iversen was number three:

Vegard Ulvang, who is the top cross-country ski coach in the International Ski Federation (FIS), does not like Norwegian star skiers Klæbo and Iversen jumping from the World Cup.

– Of course, it is not good that we have to do without Klæbo and Iversen at the beginning. But that they choose so is understandable. We cannot pass judgment on such a decision in these times, Ulvang tells VG.

Understand that difficult decisions can be made during the winter as the pandemic continues. But I hope the successful opening of the World Cup this weekend in Ruka, Finland, which he himself watched from the TV chair in Norway, will have a positive effect on the skeptics.

– It is a strange year, and it will surely affect us. But the evaluation that has been made after Ruka, where it has been discussed with the coaches and others involved, is positive, says Ulvang, who thinks it was great skiing and great winter images on television.

Klæbo himself stated in Monday’s press release that he felt unsafe during his stay in Ruka.

– I’ve been feeling this for a while. It started in connection with the World Cup final last season. The uncertainty intensified even more during our stay at Ruka. It seemed safer before we left than the situation in Finland.

– I feel that skiing and competitions are not very important in relation to the pandemic that is now devastating the whole world. Everyone has to do their part, and what they think is right. This is important and it is the right thing to do for me, says Klæbo.

– Completely wrong

Throughout the crown pandemic, Trøndelag has had a strictly personal regime. Klæbo had already told VG that he and his cohabitation Pernille Døsvik live “in eternal quarantine.”

For Ruka, Norwegian cross-country skiers had charter flights.

– I feel that it is completely wrong to travel to international destinations in these times. It involves contact with many people. Includes planes, buses, airports and more. I don’t want to expose myself to this. For me, it will be completely wrong. I accept the consequences of that and jump this time.

Heidi Weng resigned after the first day of competition at Ruka. She “had her head elsewhere” because she was afraid of being infected with corona.

PS: The Cross Country Ski World Cup runs according to plan in Oberstdorf from February 23 to March 7, 2021.