At a press conference on Thursday evening, it was announced that the management of the national team had selected Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Erik Valnes, Pål Golberg and Hans Christer Holund for Friday’s training.

Versatile coach Eirik Myhr Nossum opened the session from the podium by stressing that withdrawals are always very difficult. Maybe especially the ones for the classic 15 kilometers.

– And Emil has had ups and downs. So he unfortunately fell outside at this outlet. It is these four players who are considered better at this distance now, says coach Eirik Myhr Nossum.

Weak results

The all-round coach refers to the backward races that have taken place on the classic 15 kilometers this season.

Iversen have seventh place from their opening World Cup at Ruka in Finland and 59th place at Switzerland’s Lenzerheide.

But the 15-kilometer Norwegian team presented in the Olympic city all had better results than him at the World Cup. The exception is Holund, who has shown solid form in the championship so far.

– Discussed up and down in mind

He said residents of Trndelag were notified on Wednesday and reacted as follows to messages that he was not allowed to leave:

– Emil is of course disappointed. He felt he was fit. That’s the hard thing about withdrawals, Nossum said.

When asked about cross-country manager Espen Bjervig, sprint coach Arild Monsen and he himself agreed who should leave, Nossum replied that withdrawals were very difficult. He said that they had an up and down discussion, and it wasn’t something they took lightly. But in the end, they landed on four captives.

declare Aukland

But NRK expert Fredrik Aukland was not impressed. He doesn’t think Iversen will be allowed to go on the relay or the sprint relay that awaits next week, but he might, if he’s lucky, earn a spot in the final 50 kilometers.

He was and remains skeptical that Iversen was brought to the Olympics as early as December 20. That’s only amplified by the fact that he probably didn’t do a single workout and appears to be a pure championship reserve.

– It’s very strange that they took him out before the Tour de Ski. He had no results to suggest he would earn an Olympic place, Aukland said.

NRK experts point out that an athlete like Harald stberg Amundsen never has a real chance of qualifying. In addition, Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget and Didrik Tnseth are based in Norway and can contribute.

– They have skipped withdrawal and preparation. They took out Iversen on the previous result. It was wrong that Iversen was kicked out in the first place. On this track and at this height there is a grave error by management.

– I was astonished

He was supported by fellow expert Torgeir Bjørn. Nor was he surprised when two races backwards at the start of the season laid the foundation for who is now walking a long way during the match in Beijing.

– I was surprised that Iversen was allowed to go to the Olympics if he wasn’t going to.

– I think you usually take too many runners too early. Whether it’s about the opening of the World Cup, or for that matter an early withdrawal to the Olympics. All it took was to give Klæbo and Johaug the green light for the Olympics early. They could easily wait until after the Tour de Ski with the rest of the selection for the Olympics, said Bjørn.

– I do not really understand

The coach of the national team Nossum received at the press conference a number of questions about Iversen’s early selection for the Olympics. Among other things, if he understood whether there was a reaction to the fact that he was taken out so early.

– I don’t think there are so many who have had better results than Emil in the distance he has been here and still are. We know what Emil can do to the best of his ability. So I don’t really understand that.

– What do you think about going to the Olympics with someone who seems to be just a backup?

– It will still be shown. We have walked two of the six distances. One should never say never, Nossum said, and was then asked if he was prepared to be criticized for the early Olympics selection.

– You always have to, said the national team coach.

– A lot of distance left

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo knows Iversen well and thinks positively that he is disappointed not to have been sent off.

He assumed that the 30-year-old needed some time to himself yesterday, but he believes he should “join the gang as usual and look forward”.

– It is uncertain, although he did not walk on Friday, that he did not walk far. There’s a lot of distance left and a lot can happen. This is the Olympics and it’s about delivering on a day-to-day basis. We have to cross our fingers to keep him in good spirits, says Klæbo.