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Can Petter Northug make a comeback again?
Now Therese Johaug gives her honest verdict on it.
– I wish I could say yes, but…, she says to NRK.
He is one of the sport’s biggest profiles in the 21st century. Now there is talk of Peter Northug may make a comeback to cross-country skiing again, after quitting completely in 2018.
Northug’s comeback
The Norwegian made a big impression in the Norway Cup over the weekend and came second over two miles. The Norwegian national team coach got it Eirik Myhr Nossum to open the door for the 2025 World Ski Championships.
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And Northug, who has competed in long races in recent years, does not seem completely impossible to make a sensational comeback to the home WC.
– If I’m going to bet on the WC, I have to increase the capacity considerably and be very high, as I was before the Falun WC. I have to make sure that I get enough speed and strength in my skating, says the 38-year-old to the Norwegian newspaper Adressavisen.
Johaug’s harsh judgment
Now another old big star also joins the debate and Therese Johaug gives his honest verdict on a possible comeback for Northug. She herself has previously also opened up about making a comeback to cross-country skiing after becoming a mother.
– It is quite a long way from the Norwegian Cup to the WC. It requires even more capacity. At the WC it’s five miles in freestyle, and Petter trains a lot on staking for long races, she says to Norwegian NRK.
– I wish I could say yes, but I don’t think so. I simply think the competition is too great.
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Former world champion Hans Christer Holund also do not think it is possible for Northug to take a place in the Norwegian World Cup squad next year. And also takes the opportunity to mock the Swedish national skiing team.
– If he had gone for Sweden, there would have been a much greater possibility that he could go in Trondheim, says the Norwegian to NRK.
– A five-mile freestyle against Simen Hegstad Krüger and Harald Östberg Amundsen is an almost impossible task.
READ MORE: Giant mockery after Petter Northug’s success – the expert now points out three Swedish stars after the race that the whole skiing world is talking about
Not even Petter Northug’s former coach Stig Rune Kveen believe in a comeback.
– That he maintains a high level in the World Cup… I just have to be honest and say that I don’t believe that. I call a spade a spade, and want to temper the expectations a little for the Norwegian people. Petter doesn’t stand a chance in a tough Holmenkollen track or in Granåsen in Trondheim (World Cup track). But I think Petter can fight for victory in the Vasaloppet this winter or next, says the ski coach to the Norwegian newspaper VG.
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