– I don’t think it’s going to be magical – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule

– After a career-defining injury, you can come back in a sprint that you might not be able to do until the next year, and then win by three seconds and feel unsatisfied… I don’t think that would be magical. I cheer for those who love to win, who love to win,” says Astrid Auer Slend, 34, on the Happy Days podcast.

She is Norway’s best female long-distance runner, and this week she competed in the World Cup in Lillehammer.

When asked by NRK to explain why she reacted so badly to Klæbo’s behaviour, she believes it has something to do with inspiration.

Don’t get it

– I would have been happier if I crossed the finish line and won. It seems like he’s done it so many times, says Auer Slend, that he’s very happy about it.

She thinks it might have something to do with him being such a tough runner, but she still doesn’t understand the huge lack of cheers when he crosses the finish line first.

– Maybe it’s a matter of character, and you shouldn’t “pretend” to be happier than you are, she says, but she insists:

– When you see someone taking off their poles and you say, “Yeah, that’s what we’re talking about.” There is no raw experience to watch. When someone fights and then wins, you see that in the blink of an eye. She further says that it rubs off on the viewer.

– Now there’s talk that Klæbo was as great as Johaug, is there any danger of men’s cross-country skiing becoming boring?

– In this sense, it is good that the Russians are back soon, because the fight between Bolshunov and the Russians and Norway gives a different tension. She further says that it’s hard to know who would really put Johannes in his shoes, because he’s so good that it can get a little boring.

Bad to celebrate

After Klæbo crossed the finish line as first man in the sprint final in Lillehammer, there was little elation to be seen from Trønder.

Klæbo believes this is not because he has become too used to winning.

– I think if you saw the joy when I won my first World Cup victory, I don’t think I celebrate anything different now. Then I got so nervous I was speaking English in the win interview that I went and thought about it during the race, Klæbo tells NRK, and continues:

Now, fortunately, that fear is gone, but joy is always there, and there is nothing, I think, more beautiful than winning a ski race.

Astrid Auer Slend thinks Peter Northog and Bjorn Delle were good at festivities, and misses the same ‘raw’ festivities in Klæbo.

Is it the personality that makes it asymmetric?

– Yeah, I think it could be something. I’ve never been big on ceremonies. I try to cross the finish line first, and that’s the focus. But like I said, if you go back and watch old videos, I think they’re relatively the same, he says.

Klæbo took on defense

Swede Kalle Halvarsson, who was disqualified after finishing third in Roca last weekend, is showing his sympathy for Klæbo.

– He wins it all, so I understand it’s not the same fun every time. It is very superior. I think he’s happy inside, but he might not be the type to stand up and celebrate, says Havvarsson.

Peter Northog’s celebration was better than Klæbo’s, Hafvarsson believed, about one thing:

He didn’t win as often as Klæbo. Klæbo wins all the time – everything. Peter also won a lot, but nowhere near what Klæbo is doing now.

Even Northug thinks NRK should ask the main character himself if he’s tired of winning races.

-Maybe he should be number two and three going forward, says Northug, who was himself number three.

– Would you mind taking over that place?

– I do what I can, anyway.

On Sunday, the cross-country runners will be in a 20-kilometer race against the clock. Ladies start at 10.45am, while men start at 1pm. You can hear it on NRK and follow it here.