Cross-country ski boss Bjervig faces criticism from NM

NRK expert Fredrik Aukland believes it is rude of the Norwegian Ski Association to let Norwegian male sprinters cover only one distance, namely Thursday’s sprint, and then send them straight to the World Cup in Livigno, Italy.

Aukland is by no means alone in criticizing the choice of priorities.

It got intense between the parties when they met for a duel after Thursday’s NM gold went to Kristine Stavås Skistad and Erik Valnes.

Bjervig was on hand in his speech in the press zone afterwards.

– With regards to all the sprinters sent to Livigno, there are two big profiles in Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Pål Golberg who will fight for medals in the remaining long distance races, said Bjervig.

Navel observer

Cross-country manager Espen Bjervig said that Norway as a ski nation lives in a world where they have to deal with several things.

– We have an international concept called the World Cup, and we must comply with it, and we have NM here. We think we have found a good solution where sprinters can go to NM and take part in the World Cup. “I’m a bit surprised that commentators like Fredrik Aukland, who has worked abroad, can’t see our international responsibility by competing in the World Cup,” said Aukland.

Bjervig said that he thinks Norway will react if Sweden or Russia prioritize their own national championship if there is a World Cup race in Norway.

– I was a little surprised by his opinion, and I think it would be a little surprising. In an ideal world, we would prefer not to have the World Cup race next weekend, but we have to deal with a few sides, said the national team manager.

Don’t understand

Thursday’s bronze winner Pål Golberg said he didn’t understand the problem.

– We fielded a sprint team today, and today is the NM sprint. Tomorrow (Friday) there will be a long-distance race, then the best from the long-distance team will compete. It’s been like this for years. As long as the International Ski Federation (FIS) schedule does not change and there is no place for a national championship in the middle of the season, I think we will finish this year better than ever, thought Golberg.

Goldberg said that there are criticisms that are difficult to respond to.

– You could just turn it around and say that it’s incredible that Erik (Valnes), Håvard (Solås Taugbøl) and Even (Northug) are competing in the National Championship, when they should be in Livigno and optimally prepared to race there .

Agreed

Even Northug agreed with his boss and teammates.

– It’s a shame that it would be like this, but now it is. The World Cup is important, and it’s also important to get there fast. Johannes has extreme pressure on him, and will be in trouble if he doesn’t deliver in the WC. This may be one of the steps he will have to take, Northug said.

He said that for him NM was always big.

– Winning a medal means a lot to me. It’s not like I came here and cared how it went. I think the criticism is a bit overblown. We’re now five out of six from the sprint team at the start of the day, and that’s the team I’m on. This is good. It’s not as bad as one might think.

Britney Kirk

"Infuriatingly humble coffee guru. Travel practitioner. Freelance zombie fanatic. Certified problem solver. Food scholar. Student."

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