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National team coach Eirik Myhr Nossum can certainly break his world record and Norway’s for the 2019 World Ski Championships in Seefeld, with six men’s golds out of six possible when the World Championships in Oberstdorf kicks off in late February and early March 2021.
This is a comment. It is the attitude of the writer that is expressed.
At the same time, I am deeply concerned that the competition for the Norwegian team has gotten worse and worse in recent years. Several nations are struggling to recruit the best athletes.
When I sit here in the cozy living room of the Holmenkollen Park Hotel, face to face with Nossum, I am more and more convinced.
It really is possible.
It could be a new Norwegian grand slam.
Like two years ago.
From the restaurant window, I see the first snowflake of this fall fall on the roof of Oslo. Bad weather makes me think for a moment of the Russian Alexander Bolshunov.
The man who started first in the 2020 Tour Ski final at Granåsen in Trondheim, but experienced a lubrication boom in the Trøndelag storm and fell from first to seventh on the final stage.
Ahead of him, Bolshunov had six Norwegians with Pål Golberg, Simen Hegstad Krüger and Hans Christer Holund on the podium.
Bolshunov, who took World Cup silver at 30 kilometers and 50 kilometers in Seefeld, will likely be one of the few real challenges for the Norwegians this winter as well.
We can also add his compatriot Sergei Ustyugov, as well as the Finn Iivo Niskanen. But then it becomes more difficult to see someone with the ability to surpass five Norwegians in individual World Cup races.
After the success in 2019, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Sjur Røthe, Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Hans Christer Holund will get free places in the sprint, 30 kilometers, 15 kilometers and 50 kilometers in the next WC.
In Seefeld, Norway competed with four men. In Oberstdorf, there will be five golden opportunities and even greater.
As I see it, there are two explanations for Norwegian dominance.
* The breadth of the Norwegian roster has rarely, if ever, been greater and better. The development work is unmatched compared to the rest of the world, from club to region to national team. We are talking about a Norwegian rocket that is launched into the air with new and old profiles, accompanied by highly competent coaches and leaders.
* Competing nations such as Sweden, Finland, Italy, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, the United States, Canada, and Switzerland are moving in the opposite direction from Norway and can only send some scattered medal hopes. The width is very thin in these nations.
If the contests get too unpredictable and the winners always come from the same country, well, then we run the risk of international interest disappearing.
This could lead to a crisis where the IOC, the International Olympic Committee, is also beginning to think that cross-country skiing no longer deserves as much attention on the Olympic program, as only a few nations make up for the medals.
However, it should be said that the results of the Junior World Championships and the U23 World Championships this winter make me believe that there may be a greater international breadth towards the World Championships in Trondheim in 2025.
Norway’s dominance today is due, in my opinion, partly to national cannon work and partly to weakened international competition due to a generational change in various countries.
Competition on the men’s side is not what it used to be.
And Norwegians can’t slow down their development on the track or lie on the couch just because of the downfall of a foreign star. Of course, the Nossum gang does their best to improve even more.
The competitors:
Sweden does not yet have new Marcus Hellner, Johan Olsson, Anders Södergren or Daniel Richardsson ready for a golden match.
Switzerland has no new Cologna and “Super Dario” sings even in the last verse.
Canada does not have a new Alex Harvey in sight.
Federico Pellegrino seems to be the only Italian threat (sprint), unless the eternal promising Francesco De Fabiani recovers.
The Czech Republic is struggling to find a new Lucas Bauer.
And America would need a new Kris Freeman or Bill Koch.
France have Lucas Chanavat and a few others in the sprint, but that’s probably not enough to beat Johannes Høsflot Klæbo.
Estonia has largely doped itself out of the global elite, as have Austria and Kazakhstan.
But what about Germany then? Well, the hope at home on the men’s side could be Lars Bögel, number 35 and best German at the World Cup last season. People like retired stars Axel Teichmann, Rene Sommerfeldt, and Tobias Angerer are missing out on something completely huge.
China, for its part, is working hard to bring elite athletes to the Beijing Olympics in 2022, with the help of Terje Bjarte Langli and Anita Moen, but it is still far from a medal hope. The same goes for the men’s team in Japan.
Finland has Niskanen. He does not win World Cup gold in the 15 kilometer freestyle. The 28-year-old classic from Oulu on the northern beaches of the Gulf of Bothnia could possibly succeed in the 50-kilometer classic, if he lets loose and doesn’t have to ask against the Norwegians or the Bolshunov.
The Norwegian squad is growing very fast. The outside world, apart from Russia, is shrinking.
At the 2019/2020 World Cup, Norway, for example, had seven men in the top 12 in the overview. Sweden had three and Finland had two athletes in the top 30. Italy and France had one each.
The next that can threaten Norway come from the east. Seven Russian riders were in the top 20 at the last World Cup.
As a Swede, I cannot see any candidate for the Swedish medal in the World Cup on the men’s side.
We blue-yellows can hope and believe in Halfvarsson Street again. In Jens Burman (a joker in five miles), Oskar Svensson, Viktor Thorn and Johan Häggström. Good cross-country skiers, but none of them had a place on the Norwegian World Cup team.
At least not as it is now. Probably not at the end of February either.
And while I can only imagine two new athletes from Sweden in the near future, William Poromaa (20) and sprinter Marcus Grate (23), new top Norwegian talents are constantly appearing on the assembly line.
In my conversation with Nossum, the guy from Inderøya can give me the status of almost any number of aces he has on hand: Simen Hegstad Krüger, Hans Christer Holund, Emil Iversen, Didrik Tønseth, Sjur Røthe, Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget …
Practitioners like Nossum during the morning have been “whipping” in a tough session of elkhufs from Sognsvann to Frogdamientosteren. Despite the snow and autumn weather outdoors, there was nothing wrong with the mood and will of the Norwegian boys.
Nossum just laughs.
– Looks good, he says.
SATISFIED: Eirik Myhr Nossum leads a strong Norwegian team.
Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum (NTB)
In Lillehammer, his colleague Arild Monsen is working to improve the form of the sprint boys: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Pål Golberg, Erik Valnes, Finn HÅgen Krogh, Sindre Bjørnstad Skar, Håvard Solås Taugbøl and Ansgar Evensen …
When we first mention relevant names, we can also mention some hungry wolves lurking in the shadows who imagine challenging the people of the national team and doing their best to impress Coach Nossum: Harald Østberg Amundsen, Jan Thomas Jenssen, Ivar Tildheim Andersen, Gjøran Tefre, Mattis Stenshagen and Håvard Moseby …
Nossum really has a lot to choose from.
Did I forget someone?
Yes, at least 5-10 more than likely will challenge for a place on the World Cup team.
And yes, I must mention: Niklas Dyrhaug has a private company with Martin Johnsrud Sundby. The latter I met him at HK Labben in Kollen just a couple of weeks ago. Sweat splattered. Sundby gave everything on tape.
He wants to win, again. And he’s working really hard to get back to the golden form he had during WC Seefeld in 2019. In fact, it feels realistic, if it holds up.
So which nation can beat Nossum’s gang and Norway’s vast troop?
Not.
Eirik Myhr Nossum mentions the name of Bolshunov with respect and says: – If we win an individual gold and we relieve the gold, then we are in and we have done well.
And then add:
But of course we will also do our best to win all the golds in Oberstdorf.
– And in the Ski Tour we bet on the best team. The Tour de Ski is incredibly important in terms of promoting cross-country skiing.
I understand what you are saying.
What should or be the motivation of the Norwegian gentlemen? Something that has been incredibly good will be something absolutely fantastic.
Conditions are better than ever.
Nossum tells me that his disciples have done incredible work this summer and this fall. Most of the things seem to be in the hands of the men’s team before this winter.
I end by asking for Finn Hågen Krogh. The answer is:
– He’s on his way to the World Cup form he had in Lahti in 2017.
Yes, I just have to thank you, Nossum.
At the time, the Alta boy saved Norway’s honor by staying away from Ustjugov at the anchor stage of the relay and led Norway to the only men’s championship gold.
Now the most difficult task for Krogh will be to get a place in the World Cup team,
That says it all about the strength of Norway.
And maybe also a little about the rest of the world.
Eirik Myhr Nossum gets up from his chair and prepares for the next interview.
– The team selection will be the most difficult this winter, it really will not be easy.
I understand that.
Even the problem of luxury can give you headaches.
/ Torbjörn Nordvall
The PS Ski World Cup begins in Oberstdorf, Germany, with sprint competitions on February 25, 2021.
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