– “You have to choose when you start to approach 25, whether you want to continue your career or whether you want to take on the big players,” Petter Northug tells NRK.
He thinks the little brother was content to be a skater who asserted himself in the Norwegian Cup and gave a clear indication of where the landscape lay.
– DrIt was a very bad and a bit sloppy training. The results showed that, too. Then I think he decided we should now do things right. Perhaps the last year was the time when he really got paid for this job and the most serious work that was done.
On Friday, even Northug paid more when he convincingly won the sprint race at Betostölen. Trønder showed strong form all day and held off the challengers in the final.
– It was a good fall with a lot of good training. Then bring it out in competition. it’s a pleasure. I was a patient soul, and now it’s paying off,” Evin Northug tells NRK after the victory.
However, he must achieve greater accomplishments to impress Big Brother.
– If you’re happy about winning here, something is wrong with your head, says Petter Northug to NRK after the final.
– The winner will play in Betostolen and start winning ski races next weekend, he adds.
The King of Snowboarding says he sees “zero point” in continuing cross-country skiing if you’re not going to do it 100 percent right when you’re between the ages of 20 and 25. Where he is the same when he was 20 and midfielder Thomas is 22, even Northug had to wait until he was 26.
– Maybe I wasn’t the one who was sure all along that I was going to be really good and then the results are accordingly. Then you are not training well enough. But I decided a little more in recent years and did the work that needed to be done, says the 27-year-old before the start of the season in Betostollen.
Won: Even Northug has shown great form in Betostoln.
Photo: Terje Bendiksby/NTB
“Now either or”
Last season, he took a chance at the World Cup and reached three finals in the sprint. For the first time in his career, Northog has even secured a place in the national team, and last weekend he showed a promising pace by winning the FIS sprint in Muonio.
He describes Peter’s letters as clear: “You have to choose rather than make it halfway.”
Maybe he thinks I slipped up too much, and didn’t do it well enough. He may have noticed by now that I’ve rewired a bit and done things more appropriately, says Even Northug.
The turning point was the sprint at the Italian Cogne Championships in 2019. When the biggest stars were busy shipping WC in mid-February, he had the chance to go to the World Cup.
The feeling he came home after was a miserable 41st and lead exit.
– Then I thought it was now either or. Go here simply to spoil yourself. That was embarrassing. When you go with Norway on your chest, you don’t break out on top, says Northug.
Strong field: The entire Norwegian elite, with the exception of Johannes Hosflute Kleibeu, lined up in the starting lines in Betostollen.
Photo: Heiko Junge/NTB
Hunt a restroom place
Next weekend, he begins the hunt for his first individual World Cup podium. The national opening in Beitostølen is one of three pre-Christmas sprint races in the sprint classic, which is also WC training. This is why distinction is so important.
– hHe’s had two summers with a good amount of training which means the ability is getting better. Weakness was when he got to the semi-finals and finals, and then he came out against the best when he accelerated, says Peter Northough.
– Now he’s realized that, and now he can help make a mark in the Finals. Northug says doing so will be more fun.
And if there is still the question of whether Little Brother knows what he wants to do in the next few years, he has no doubt:
– Now I am very safe and feel very comfortable. When things are flowing, it’s easy to say things are going well, but I’m enjoying myself and want to skate fast.
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