World Cup leader Tiril Udnes Weng (26) has given it his all this season. He now continues competitive racing in the Tour de Ski. But is it possible to defend and win the “yellow jersey” and best form for the World Cup?
“No,” says Martin Johnsrud Sundby.
– The two things are not connected, the former national team veteran and Viaplay expert tells VG.
He was asked if Udnes Weng can keep the “yellow jersey” – proof of absolute leadership in the World Cup – and at the same time be in top form in the World Cup.
He elaborates:
– If you want to aim for the yellow jersey, go and perform weekend after weekend. There are consequences if there is a real goal you want to fight for. Among other things, one cannot afford to enter too many free periods. There is a cost and that is that it is much more difficult to time in a WC form.
For Udnes Weng claims both sprint and distance. He has thus completed all individual races so far this season.
There is virtually no one at the top of international women’s cross country who has had the same load.
Now he continues his competitive run with a nine-day Tour de Ski.
– Giving up the yellow jersey without fighting a bit is difficult. I get excited about doing a lot of cross-country skiing and fighting for it, she says and continues:
– Then the Tour de Ski decides which path to follow. If it’s good there and I’m in position, then it’s a long way off not fighting for it, Udnes Weng tells VG.
Frida Karlsson, one of Udnes Weng’s fiercest rivals over distance, has taken the last World Cup weekend before Christmas.
Medal candidates Emma Ribom, Maja Dahlqvist and Johanna Hagström take a break for the Tour de Ski.
In the Norwegian national team, for example, medal candidates Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Heidi Weng and Anne Kjersti Kalvå have nowhere near the same load.
– But do you yourself think so, whether it is one or the other?
– I don’t think so, necessarily. But if you want to make sure you’re more likely to succeed in the WC, then you’ve got to be cynical. Also, there is no automatism in the toilet that goes to hell if you choose the yellow jersey.
After the Tour de Ski, four World Cup racing weekends follow before the WC in Planica.
National coach Stig Rune Kveen says Sundby is right in what he says.
– He wore a yellow jersey himself and performed in championships. But now we have to look at this gradually. We’ll see in January if we have to be cynical about the total load.
– The WC is the main target, so the yellow jersey can live a bit of his life there. A quiet weekend can be relevant. These are the kinds of assessments we make along the way, Kveen says.
For Viaplay expert Sundby, there’s no doubt what he had chosen:
– It’s great to wear the yellow jersey. I hope he gets advice on how to fight tooth and nail. Now he has a real chance to win it all, he says and continues:
– She needs to make wise choices between her weekends, use Christmas and free time for a quiet workout that takes care of her health, and be mentally ready weekend after weekend, says Sundby.
At this, Udnes Weng says he thought along the same lines:
– May it be that this is the year when it is possible. Next year, where there is no championship, more people will fight for it. It’s not certain I’ll be able to do it this season, but I agree with that line of thinking there.
