– Where is the knowledge?

This was Henrik Kristoffersen’s brutal message to the Norwegian national team manager who made his tasks difficult during the World Cup race in March.

– The track is not well laid out for me. It set up very well for Marco Odermatt, who took the podium on the downhill and won the super-G race, winning many giant slalom races, he says in the new documentary series “Outsideren Henrik” on Viaplay.

In alpine skiing, it’s coaches from different countries who determine the position of the gates, and in the final round of the giant slalom race at Kranjska Gora, it’s Norway’s turn to set the course.

Kristoffersen is the best of the Norwegian mountaineers, and it is a well-known fact that he thrives best when technically demanding. Nevertheless, the Norwegian has opted to set a course that appears to favor athletes who are better at speed than technique.

It caused frustration among the Norwegian Alpine set.

– It was a Norwegian course maker, and then they went straight down like they did in the second half there, said a clearly disappointed Kristoffersen.

“Don’t say stupid things”

Despite the unfortunate course setup, the Norwegian won the event, and in the docuseries he has made no secret of the fact that the victory felt good for several reasons:

– Then I see that it is arranged that way, then I feel like a bastard. The best thing is to deny people, says Kristoffersen.

The 28-year-old is part of the Norwegian national team, but he has a completely separate system, and therefore he is not coached by the Norwegian national team manager. Instead, he had his father Lars Kristoffersen as team leader for a separate team.

In the documentary series, it is revealed that the father was pressured into getting his son to say his opinion on the route arrangement of the national team coach in the post-race interview.

– Don’t say something stupid, is a clear message.

In the heat of battle, he answered the following questions to Viaplay’s licensees about the track:

– I wish there were more swings, but that’s how it is. If I drive like I do now, it shows that it doesn’t matter as long as I ski well, Kristoffersen said at the time.

– The knowledge really exists

It was former alpine coach for the Anders Husby national team who set up the course at Kranjska Gora. He showed that all the Norwegians were very impressed in the second round, and there was only a green number for the Norwegian athletes.

Among others, he chose Rasmus Windingstad, who had a best time of sixth in the second innings.

– We really enjoyed the race, and it was very intimate with Henrik. He had the best lap time of the day, and we are very pleased with that,” Husby told NRK.

He also responds to Kristoffersen’s critique of knowledge.

– The knowledge really exists. We have a team and we know what our runners are capable of. We have knowledge about it. “We hit really well when Lucas Braathen ended a hundredth behind Henrik in the second half,” said the former national team coach.

Here’s the Norwegian team’s time in the second half at Kranjska Gora:

• Kristoffersen: 1:05.67: Best
• Lucas Braathen: 1:05.68: Number two
• Atle Lie McGrath: 1:05.77: Number five
• Rasmus Windingstad: 1:06.02: Number six
• Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen: Number twelve

Understand the frustration

Lars Elton Myhre, NRK’s ​​alpine expert, points out that it’s very common for coaches to set trails that are favorable to their athletes. He could understand that Kristoffersen gave up at that point.

– I can definitely understand that he is frustrated. But there are many considerations that must be considered by coaches, including where the track is and see the route. You can’t place a gate anywhere. “So I understand his frustration, but I don’t think it was done against him,” said Myhre.

Like Kristoffersen, Myhre has also shown that a track with few bends is inherently suitable for a competitor like Odermatt.

At the same time, he allowed himself to be impressed by how adaptable the Norwegian mountain climber was.

– When he’s fit, he wins in all conditions. He is extreme in difficult situations. It’s almost like the harder it is, the better it is for him. Few have the stability and technique he possesses, said Myhre.

For the men, it’s only a matter of time until the next giant slalom race at the World Cup. There is a giant slalom and slalom in Val d’Isère on December 10 and 11.

This is how the giant slalom race ended on March 13: