Klæbo shoots Halfvarsson’s torch to give up on high-altitude skiing

OBERSTDORF (VG) Swedish personal Calle Halfvarsson (33) wants elite skiing to stop at altitude skiing. This is what makes Johannes Hosflotte-Klabo and many Norwegians smile.

– Explodes. There’s going to be something extra about charging altitude and that whole part. I think it’s superfluous to have a huge advantage because you charge from the height up front. There are places you can compete in the lowlands, Havvarsson tells VG, so it will be the same for everyone.

Aftonbladet Al Suwaidi’s proposal was mentioned first. The higher the sea level, the less air. High-altitude skiing, such as in Swiss Val Müstair on the opening weekend of the Tour de Ski, means that many athletes need to acclimatize for a while in order to be at their best.

Viaplay expert Martin Johnsrud Sundby went among others In the direction of Emil Iversen Because he paid a fee to race the Tour de Ski in the Lowlands. This is in contrast to, for example, Johannes Hosflotte Klabo, Pal Gulberg, Tyrell Odnes Wing and Anne Kjersti Calva, who have spent Christmas on the high and have done well so far on the Tour.

This is the “problem” that Havvarsson wants to revive.

– I don’t think there are any so amazing high-altitude places where so many people come. I don’t understand why we don’t get in UlrichehamnUlrichehamnSki resort in Sweden, in Västergötland, in the Lowlands. It gets to 40,000. It’s completely incomprehensible to me, says Halvarsson.

The 33-year-old adds that his opinion is influenced by the fact that he struggles in high-altitude competition and has become a family man.

On the other hand, the proposal meets resistance from the Norwegian national team.

“Only high-altitude skiing is my answer,” Klæbo, who has stayed at altitude three times this season, tells VG.

Last winter, the Olympics were held in Beijing at altitude, while this winter the World Cups at altitude were held in Davos, Val Moustairs and Livigno.

For me, it’s a great sport. If you do better in the lowlands, you have to go there. If you are the best in heights, go there. He’s part of ‘the game’, says Klæbo – who has won three out of three races so far in the Tour.

“The combination of the fact that you have to take assessments and improve your training plan in order to be the best you can be on the ski runs you do is part of the magic,” Klæbo continues.

Nor was Pål Golberg impressed by Halvarsson’s performance.

Being a top athlete requires you to make choices and get far from home. If that’s what you’re saying, you can come up with something else, says Pål Golberg.

– Yes, I can come up with something else, Halvarson replies.

He also does not have the support of his colleague William Buruma.

– I think competitions at heights also have their charms, so I don’t agree with him, says Buruma.

Simen Hegstad Krüger is known as one of those that perform best in the air at high altitude.

– I think you should be able to handle running at altitude. “I think I’ve shown that it’s possible to do well on the hills without being up front,” says Kruger.

For his part, Emil Iversen struggled to perform at altitude. He smiles at Halvarson’s trick.

– I think those of us who don’t think it’s fun to go to the mountains can go on our ski trails in the lowlands. Kale can come to Grova in Mirocare then we can have a separate cup for those who don’t like heights. Sundby will be allowed to be a technical rep there, says Iversen and laughs his jab in the direction of his former teammate afterward. The war of words in the last days.