Sundby shakes his head at the cross-country manager’s reply: – You can’t take it seriously

OBERSTDORF (VG) The cross-country manager takes charge of Emil Iversen’s defense on the ski tour and sends a small jab in the awkward direction of Martin Jonsrud Sundby. This makes the veteran of the national team shake his head.

After the first Tour de Ski competition and a prologue exit, Sundby Iversen lashed out For not charging at altitude. He stated, among other things, that he believed Iversen completely missed the mark.

When asked how cross-country coach Espen Bjervig views the criticism from Veeplay expert Sundby last weekend, Bjerweg initially replied that it would be to his detriment.

He then states that athletes choose differently, and will wait to draw conclusions, but ultimately points out this:

– We must remember that it was Martin who initiated the fact that the Norwegian men would not go to the top because he did not believe in it, says Bervig.

– So Sundby will take his share of the blame for not loading Iversen higher this year?

– No. But towards the end of his career, Martin was the driving force to end altitude training because he thought it had no effect. He wanted us to train in the lowlands instead.

This makes Sundby shake his head.

The discussion started in the Viaplay studio on the first competition day of the Tour de Ski. Iversen smoked straight from the front and Sundby thought it was no surprise that trønder wouldn’t deliver.

The passion came directly from recharging in the lowlands and competitions in the thin air of Val Moustier at an altitude of about 1600 metres.

– said Sundby In my eyes, Emil completely missed when he charged at Meråker.

After two races in the Tour de Ski too Iversen gave up the struggle to assert himself in the abstract.

When Sundby now hears how cross-country coach Bjervig defends Iversen, he shakes his head.

– If this is the answer to Bjervig, then he is not answering the question, but something completely different. Comparing altitude training and altitude acclimatization, Sundby says, are two completely different things that have different effects.

The Fitplay expert says all athletes know that acclimatization, a type of adaptation to new surroundings, has a proven effect, whereby the optimal thing is to prepare for a certain level of competition.

This is what is meant by improvement. I can’t take it seriously when they mix altitude acclimatization training with altitude,” says Sundby.

Bjervig also points out in the interview with VG that Sindre Bjørnestad Skar, who hasn’t recharged at altitude, is a good example of someone who has managed to put in a good performance.

Namely, Skar took third and fifth places from the first two races in Val Müstair.

But other than that, the trend is quite clear. Those who have recharged at altitude have done well and are fighting as well as anyone fighting for the overall win in this year’s Tour de Ski.

Diederik Tonseth was among those who recharged at altitude before the Tour de Ski. When asked if he understood the criticism leveled at Iversen, he replied as follows:

– If Emile had aimed to go fast here, he would have been at the top. Of course, he had a goal to go fast, but he also knew that if he was going to be perfect, he’d have to go top at Christmas, too.

– He chose not to. In the results lists as well, you see a common thread where those who were in the Christmas rush are doing well, Toneseth says.

Faced with Sundby’s game, Iversen wistfully remarks that he thinks it’s funny that he should be responsible for half the team’s plan.

And if you are going to be an expert, it is better to criticize the scheme before it begins than to attack the people who fail afterwards. We didn’t hear anything before the tour started, Tronder says.

He goes on to say that he struggles to reach height. He’s tried a lot, doesn’t think it’s easy and doesn’t realize any wisdom about his relationship to training and performing in the air.

– I have no problem admitting that I’m not getting the best of me out of it. The problem is that I’m getting less confident every day as I’m on the rise. It is not as simple as people imagine. It’s not just about staying high for a week or two and that problem will be fixed. He says I tried that too.