– He’s totally uncompromising – VG

– I almost think I can say that he is the best most ascetic Norwegian athlete. I perceive him as totally uncompromising when it comes to sacrifice and achieving his goal, in a way I’ve never seen before, says Bjørn Dæhlie.

Three days before Sondre Nordstad Moen, true to tradition, traveled to his multi-month high-altitude training stay in Kenya the second week of Advent, Bjørn Dæhlie added him to his group of top-level athletes marketing his brand. .

Bjørn Dæhlie sold his trademark to Odlo 20 years ago. He then bought it back and then placed “Dæhlie” under the Active Brands company sports equipment umbrella. Faced with the perception of him as a “real estate mogul” rather than active in the sportswear competition, Bjørn Dæhlie claims that he, although he has been a bit invisible at times, “has been a part of this all along”, and that has enough money in it.

Sondre Nordstad Moen leaves athletic and sports equipment giant Nike in favor of Dæhlie’s “cross-country brand” and himself. Like Active Brand Director Øystein Bråta, the track and street runner will not say how much he will be paid for the clothing deal in the form of a 1 + 3 year contract, for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but Sondre Nordstad Moen reveals that this is a ‘completely different endorsement deal and much better than ever before.

Sondre Nordstad Moen notes that he will get “added support” by being outfitted with a different logo than Nike, which is close to all athletes, in a kind of modest attention competition with superstars like LeBron James and Tiger Woods.

As VG understands, the agreement contains a “cash and visibility bonus” as well as a “product package” that will cover Sondre Nordstad Moen’s needs 365 days a year. His need is not so great, which is the point of view of Bjørn Dæhlie when asked how he will characterize the first athlete in the stable.

– Ole Einar Bjørndalen has also been extreme. But he (Sondre Nordstad Moen) probably goes the extra mile when it comes to living alone and soberly. When it comes to getting it all out when it comes to diet, drinking and exercise. It is not influenced by the outside world in a negative direction; of work pressure from sponsors. He just said “I’ll be the best at running,” says Bjørn Dæhlie, and then continues with the same words of praise.

– It says “I will live in Kenya”, I should not have the most beautiful car, apartment, pants and shirt. None of this matters. He’s away from his family and friends, but he’s with the friends he makes in Kenya, where he can train with the best runners in the world. And then it becomes as good as nobody could believe that a Norwegian could keep running. Or a European, for that matter, adds Bjørn Dæhlie.

Trøndelag resident Sondre Nordstad Moen took an interest in cross-country skiing when he was six years old and experienced the Ski World Cup with Bjørn Dæhlie at home in 1997.

– Dæhlie was one of several role models. I watched him until he left. Then there was Alsgaard, which lasted until the 2000s. When I was 14-15 years old, I started to focus more on myself and what I needed to do to improve, says Sondre Nordstad Moen.

Your contract with Nike expires on January 1, 2021. After that, you may have to go out and buy shoes for your own money. At current prices, this may cost 40,000 kroner. At the same time, he ends the collaboration with his Italian coach, Chiara Davini, but continues what he has had for many years with his Italian coach, Renato Cavona, 75 years old.

Bjørn Dæhlie first made his mark on Sondre Nordstad Moen through media reports of “sensational times”.

– We were way ahead then. We did the best sports, says Dæhlie of his own time in the best sports.

– But jaggu, I think he has gone a step further in … yes, it is deeply impressive, thinks Bjørn Dæhlie and refers to the “smart questions” of Sondre Nordstad Moen during their first conversation under four eyes before signing the contract .

Bjørn Dæhlie was guilty of answering when Sondre Nordstad Moen wondered why he, during his time, did not stay on top for more than three weeks in a row. When Bjørn Dæhlie says he ate oatmeal every morning during his active career, Sondre Nordstad Moen responds that he’s not that excited about breakfast like that, followed by a supposed scientific discussion of why.

Then incorporate Dæhlie into the ingredients and effects of a variety of energy drinks.

Bjørn Dæhlie believes that the most interesting and attractive thing on the market with Sondre Nordstad Moen is what he does outside the athletic field. That is, in street races, half marathons and marathons. It is wide and where the masses are, as he says.

– New York Marathon, for example. Being able to identify with the best marathon runner in the world is something special. It’s not that easy when it comes to 10,000 meters on the track, or the Ingebrigtsen guys’ times of 1,500 meters, he says.

Before he immediately with a kind of self-correction emphasizes:

– I am also deeply impressed with that family. It’s a lot of fun, because they’ve gone through all the textbooks. That’s what I’ve been saying all this time. What is written there is not true. From what I’ve seen of the real ones, you won’t find almost anything about it in the (learning) books, says Bjørn Dæhlie.

List Therese Johaug, Thomas Alsgaard, and Vegard Ulvang. What they have actually done, “is nowhere to be found.”

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– Did you forget yourself now?

– Yes, but he (Sondre Nordstad Moen) too. There is no place for the way you live and the way you train, responds Bjørn Dæhlie.

Before finding the running shoes to take a trip with Sondre Nordstad Moen at Økern in Oslo, he says that he has run a lot, that he thinks running is a lot of fun because “that moment is that moment”, it can destroy you mentally. and built, while in cross-country skiing there are many other parameters.

– You can’t compare my time in Lillehammer with anyone, because you don’t get the same conditions and the same route. When you run, you have shoes and very few variables. I have run a lot. That’s what I’ve done, and I’ve barely walked a meter on skis. I think it’s so boring, says Bjørn Dæhlie.