Petter Northug has been described as sullen and uninterested. Now sparkles Skikongen.
Oberstdorf (Aftenposten): trøndere was third and best Norwegian in the prologue Tour de Ski. And even better: It is still a few days before 28-year-old makes the full effect of a three weeks long height stay.
He has been described as sullen, disinterested and little available in season introduction.
But in two days here in Oberstdorf has Skikongen again bubbled.
He was butter sweeten the pressure hit the day before the Tour de Ski started.
And Northug was very well sheltered after being number three on the over four-kilometer prologue in Oberstdorf, 5.5 seconds behind Dario Cologna. Northug joked that he had to start the last leg before NRK broadcast starts to have a chance to win the Tour. And he asked Chris Jespersen to spend less time in the solarium, and more time to train speed, as a humorous stab after teammate hinted lost prize money due domestique role he was ordered last year.
Northug good mood can of course have a correlation with rising shape. For it is the, according to him. Northug believes he should be raw to stages Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Takes 10-11 days”
– There has been a lot of training up to Christmas, but now it begins to loosen. It’s still a bit early for altitude stay. When I’ve been three weeks in height, now, it takes 10 to 11 days before fast the raw nonetheless has a strong return. There is still a little chewy. But I have added up to be spike from Tuesday-Wednesday and out Tour. I can not “time” it so that I am raw in the beginning and heavy at the end.
Northug think the field will even out after Sunday’s 15 km classic pursuit in Oberstdorf.
– There are few seconds separates and there is a large group that will hunt behind me and Calle (Halfvarsson). I think everyone wonders what Dario will try as he showed such good shape today.
Northug believes the five bonus seconds he earned the prologue will give him lower shoulders, that he will not have to chase the start as many of them behind the results.
He’s not going to help too much along the way, but focus on going strong last lap, and be on “shooting range” before the decisive week of the Tour.
– There is a critical point before the long stage in Toblach (Thursday). I must have a good position and it is important not to give away too much time on stages Tuesday (sprint Val Müstair) and Wednesday (10 km interval start Toblach).
Relax with horror
Northug still believes Cologna and teammate Martin Johnsrud Sundby is the biggest favorites.
The latter was number 10 in the prologue after going in the wrong “corridor” in the second round . But Sundby relax penalty.
– It was easy to look at the TV pictures that I kept a little far to the right on the second round. What shall I say? I get blame that I was special empty skull. It was only a hundred meters in the long hill, when we somehow strange reason were going in different corridors on each round. I forgot the other round, told Røa runner.
– misdemeanor was decent, but they concluded that he had not received any benefit from it, says coach Vidar Løfshus.
– It certainly seems you were right decision?
– Yes, I think that, but I think the it is blunt Martin says Løfshus before he laughs.
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