Petter Northug can look back on a career full of success with a total of 20 Olympic and World Cup medals. He was dominant in the world elite for several years and first made himself known as a good sprinter.
It is also today’s sovereign, Johannes Hösflot Kläbo, but the two stars are very different, says Northug.
– Until I was 25 years old, I only dominated in three and five miles in the mass start, and struggled to get sprint results, but for Johannes it has been the opposite in championships, he has won the sprint and did not get it in three and five miles , says Northug to SVT Sport.
He elaborates:
– So we are quite different, my sprint was best after three and five miles, while Johannes has his best sprint in a sprint.
– So yes, there are similarities, but at the same time we are very different in what we were best at when we were younger.
“Didn’t think it was possible”
Kläbo has become known for running in classic style on skis, off-piste, a style that many call “Kläbo running” or “Kläbo style”.
– First of all, he has taken sprinting to the next level, which was not thought possible. And I was never close to that, says Northug.
Northug also believes that Kläbo will win the Tour de Ski, something he has managed to do in the last two seasons. In total, he already has three victories in the competition.
– He was strong in Trondheim and took the triple and has gone to Davos (training camp with preparations for the tour) and runs the same setup as last year, so he feels very confident now.