AVAILABLE: – Where is Petter going to go today?
The question came from a semi-skiing spectator near the finish area at Finnsnes on Sunday morning. The six-mile long race Summit 2 Senja had not been decided at the time, and down on the Hurtigruten quay where the finish line was located, the wind made the waiting time unbearable.
When such races are broadcast for several hours live on NRK, it means that both smaller and larger venues can beat their chests a little extra. Just this morning, their home or area was in the center of “the whole of Norway.” At least for those who watch the state channel.
Who wins is for the vast majority along the trail rather uninteresting. They are there to get the experience of skiers speeding past, with the noise of the helicopter above them. Maybe they end up on TV for a second or two?
Some runners, however, waited a little longer for the mean jump, hoping to catch a glimpse of it between the gusts of wind. Erik Valnes grew up in the neighbourhood, and is one such person. The same applies to Andreas Nygaard.
One profile still trumps all. Petter Northug was actually registered for the weekend’s two long-distance races with the finish at Bardufoss and at Finnsnes, or “in Finnsnes” as they consistently said on the NRK broadcast. He was again in place, but dropped it due to not being fully fit.
– You don’t notice much about him during the race, but he sprinkles some stardust on the event itself. Even if he’s just in the service apparatus cheering, said Andreas Nygaard to iTromsø.
The 38 year old The old skier has characterized Norwegian and international cross-country skiing since he broke through back in 2006. In the last 20 or so years, he has left his mark on the Norwegian public in a way that no other athlete in any sport has done. What started with provocative quotes the likes of which we had never heard, Swedish harassment and heaps of gold, turned into drunk driving and drug abuse. No Norwegian will again be named “Swedish athlete of the year” as Northug was in Expressen in 2010.
This is how we know Petter Northug. Provocative against the Swedes and totally for the Norwegians. Here he crosses the finish line during the relay in the World Cup in 2013.
Photo: Åserud, Lise / NTB scanpix
You’ll have to work hard to find someone who hasn’t at least heard his name, and doesn’t have some kind of idea about him either. After choking back tears when talking about cocaine and alcohol addiction at a press conference in August 2020, the vast majority probably thought that this was the last we had seen of the top-level profile.
We were wrong there. He instead made a sort of comeback in “Ski Classics”, a collection of traditional long-distance races such as the Vasaloppet and the Birkebeineren. But it was really sensational earlier this winter, when he performed well in both the Norwegian Cup and also took silver in the team sprint at the NM.
The speculations and the slightly removed from reality, the dream that Northug might be able to get a role in the World Cup on home ground in Trondheim in February 2025 lived on, until he closed it himself a few weeks ago. I think both the WC management, the NRK chiefs and many with them would like to see the door kept open a little longer.
The interest such an opportunity created is also extreme for cross-country skiing, which, after Northug gave up a few years ago, has had enough of holding on to the attention they were used to when Petter was at his peak. Absolutely no disparagement for Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who I don’t think will ever reach as many people in the same way.
– I understand that people want to see him here. Petter is a rock star, and the biggest skier we have in the country, even though he no longer goes professional regular cross-country skiing. Johannes has a bit of the same status, but among the younger farm. Among most people, he is in a class of his own, stated Andreas Nygaard standing outside the equipment tent at the goal area at Finnsnes.
Right next to by him stood Tromsø resident Erik Valnes, who after a few icy miles had given away his start number to an eager fan, taken a few selfies and signed autographs on the hats of some kids.
In the shadow of Northug, Valnes is among those who can do what we expect from Norwegian skiers in a WC. In just over a month, he will start the run-up to the championship, where he is a bit under the radar for many and has become a favorite for a distance.
On Tuesday 4 March, in just under eleven months, Valnes is the one many fear the most in the 10 kilometer classic. It is something different from when he broke through as a sprinter a few years ago.
– The ten kilometer sails up for me. I’ve been good there for a long time, and increased my capacity a little throughout. It is a distance where I can walk as much as I can from start to finish, he asserts.
Erik Valnes signs autographs.
Photo: Rune Robertsen
Neither he nor his teammates will ever match Petter Northug’s celebrity status. But the fact is that 27-year-old Valnes is now entering what physically often stand out as the best years of a top sports career. The WC in Trondheim will be followed by the Olympics in Milan in 2026 and the WC in Falun in 2027.
With a starting point and training base on Tromsøya, he faces a few months and years that will be able to send him up to a real cross-country star, which a WC gold in Norway will ensure.
The questions about “he Petter” will come in the future anyway, as from the person in charge at Finnsnes. After all, the 38-year-old is someone “everyone” feels they know a little bit.
It’s a bit sad that it’s like that, if you’re mostly concerned with sports. For people like me who want anyway the phenomenon Petter Northug has a nostalgic place.