Failure in the Olympic relay and no Therese Johaug.
Despite that, the Norwegian national ski team is betting sky high.
– There is a lot that needs to be done, says coach Sjur Ole Svarstad.
Norway’s national ski team is in a fairly unclear situation right now. Already during the winter, the national team received criticism for its uneven level, and that it began to lag behind other nations, but then at least it had Therese Johaug.
Dare the play
The dominant Norwegian won three individual golds during the Olympics, but after her, the best places for Norway during the competitions in China were eighth in the sprint, and 13th in the distance. In the relay, perhaps the biggest highlight of the whole Olympics, it was a fiasco with a fifth place. But despite the fact that the national team’s form is on the decline, and that Johaug and sprint ace Maiken Caspersen Falla have now retired, expectations are high.
To VG, the national ski team’s coaching duo reveals that the team is betting on WC gold in the relay, podium places in the World Cup and medals in the WC.
– They have their individual goals, and even though we lost a few skaters, we have a strong team in relay and individual competitions on good days. I mean that we should fight for top positions and the podium, says Sjur Ole Svarstad.
“A lot to flap”
However, you are aware that you are betting high compared to how it looked at previous championships (if you leave Johaug aside).
– We set high goals based on previous results, so there is a lot to be achieved. But it is an ambitious group that wants to fight for the podium. That’s where we set the goal, so we can help as much as possible, says Svarstad.
The riders themselves believe that it will show spectators and doubters that they are a force to be reckoned with.
– It just shows that we know what we want, and that we dare to invest. People can think what they want, and we are used to being pressured. We won the relay in the last WC, and were repressed both before and after that.
READ MORE: Honest words in Norway ahead of the new ski season – now admits after all the leaden statements: “We probably never have…”