“It went well for me. It’s going well,” Peter Northug wrote in a letter to NRK.
The accident did not dampen the old ski king’s mood, but there was certainly a change in plans when the Aker Dæhlie and Janteloppet teams were due to do a test race on the holiday island of Mallorca on Tuesday morning.
Several of the world’s best cross-country skiers – with Northug and Astrid Owerri-Sliend in the lead – plodded along on roller skis for two hours and 40 minutes. “The warm-up,” as Slinde calls it when NRK spoke to her on Tuesday evening.
After the long and relatively calm part of the training session, they had to do a test climb of Sa Colabra, known to many who were on a cycling holiday in Mallorca.
I got a choice
They “pumped up the gels and the caffeine,” Slind told NRK. But before they could start, the police showed up.
-We have two options. Either get in the car and go home, or a fine of 200 euros and a trip to the police station, she says.
World Champion: Astrid Owerri Slind was a member of the Norwegian team that took the gold medal at the World Championships in the relay in Planica.
Photo: Terje Pedersen // NTB
They chose to drop the time trial race to the ground where they had also tested their level several times before, with no objections from law enforcement.
According to Slind, most of the gang was supposed to settle on the hill. But Slind and Peter Northug had to have a separate skating duel.
– The duel consisted of not defeating me for more than two minutes and fifteen seconds. “I thought it was small, but I was ready for the challenge,” Slinde says.
The hill is 9.4 km long and has a total height of 668 metres. According to Slind, race time is usually about 40 minutes.
Long betting: Peter Northug is hoping to get close to the best in long-distance running this coming winter.
Photo: Geir Olsen/NTB
– It was good
Now Trønders has to wait until the police don’t show up to take the test. This is unlikely to happen in this gathering.
– We follow the recommendations of the local police until the return trip, says manager Joachim Orland at Aker Dæhlie to NRK, and confirms that it was a good training day nonetheless.
“It must be said that we were good at showing consideration and letting the cars pass, and staying on the right,” says Slind.
Instead she ran a difficult session on Tuesday afternoon.
Ice skating on the highway
It’s not entirely unusual for Norwegian cross-country skiers on roller skates to attract police attention at rallies around the world.
In 2011, Thomas Northug was stopped by police as he was skating on a highway in Germany to get gasoline for a dried-up car.
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