Former skiing boss Espen Bjervig believes Therese Johaug will return to the World Championships in Trondheim if the star believes she can get in shape to win the 50km race.
Espen Bjervig’s51, the only representative assignment for the Norwegian national skiing team, the 1999 Ramsau World Championships, is best remembered for Norway’s sensational loss of silver in the men’s 4×10 km relay, when Austria’s Christian Hoffmann washed in the end by Thomas Alsgaard.
His half-decade period as the leader of the Norwegian cross-country team, which ended at the turn of the year, is also remembered for the loss. The Norwegian Skiing Association makes losses in its most recent financial year in the order of millions in euros.
Although the loss is not nearly entirely in cross-country skiing’s account, Bjervig was probably the most criticized person in Norway in the final stages of his career, because cross-country skiing is still Norway’s most watched and nationally significant sport.
“We are not immune”
– I know many people wonder how the Norwegian Ski Association can make big losses. But we are also not immune to things like rising interest rates and a war started by Russia, both of which have caused caution among sponsors. As far as elite sports are concerned, we are an organization that operates entirely on the basis of commercial cooperation, says Bjervig, who will continue in a kind of consultant role in the Norwegian federation until April, to Urheilule.
He says that he is also well aware of the big financial problems of the Finnish fraternal organization.
In addition to financial difficulties, the final days of Bjervig’s washing machine were marked by the controversy of the superstar, which was thoroughly presented in public Johannes Hösflot Kläbon with.
Kirityk’s relationship with the union became extremely strained, and Kläbo, who demanded – and eventually received – great financial exemptions made harsh accusations about the activities of the cross country team.
– The last few times were really hard. The dispute with Johannes affected the atmosphere of the entire national team activities, Bjervig admits.
His predecessor Vidar Löfshus couldn’t get with much less, because he had to pull himself up Martin Johnsrud Sundbyn and Therese Johaugin the robe of the media explainer of doping cases.
Will Johaug return?
Johaug, who ended his career at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Spring as a three-time Olympic champion, is again an interesting name. She is still in great shape, and it is believed that the millimeter will make a comeback at the World Championships in Trondheim in 2025. The women’s 50 kilometers will then be run with free technique.
– I believe that Therese will definitely ski in Trondheim, but only if she knows without a doubt that she can win. Without a doubt, he would be a huge draw for the whole event.
Bjervig believes that even though the Norwegian Skiing Association has plunged into a financial crisis for a while, the infrastructure of Granåsen, which has been renovated from the WC home, will be a great success that will save the economy for a long time. Such was also the fantastic World Cup 2011 in Oslo.
Bjervig is currently a member of the cross-country committee of the International Ski Federation FIS; he will follow the rest of the Tour de Ski in Italy on the spot. Controversial partner Kläbo was left out of the tour by a few other stars such as Iivo Niskanen ways.
Despite that, or maybe because of it, the Tour’s races have been very interesting. Bjervig does not accept the gloom surrounding cross-country skiing anyway, but considers the sport’s situation much better than part of the public suggest.
– In Norway, the negative cycle is maintained by a few prominent media faces, and such an attitude is contagious.
In Norway, for example, skiing’s important TV viewership figures have dropped dramatically for the simple reason that the free-to-air public radio company NRK and commercial TV2 only show the races on Norwegian soil, and the pay channel Viaplay the rest, like the entire Tour de Skin. The contract ends in 2026.
– There are still 100,000 skiers in Norway. Biathlon can be popular on TV, but only a maximum of 4,000 athletes practice it, says Bjervig.
Skiing’s Tour de Ski continues on Wednesday, January 3 in Davos with free sprints. Qualifying at 15:25 and finals at 18. shows the races live. ‘s live sports broadcasts can be found at this link.