Therese Johaug Issues Warning to Competitors

Therese Johaug is positively surprised about her current form ahead of the World Cup opening in Ruka. The 36-year-old revealed this to the press after a training session at the Finnish ski resort.

Johaug was asked how she feels about her performance compared to her expectations. "I feel that I am ahead of my schedule. I had thought Beitostølen could turn out worse than it did. So I am pleasantly surprised about my form," she noted.

During the national season opener last weekend, she dominated her opponents in the 10 km classic, although she narrowly lost to Heidi Weng by six-tenths of a second in the freestyle 10 km the following day. "Yes, I have been training a bit on the skate technique," Johaug said with a smile in Ruka.

She has openly admitted her skating technique wasn’t quite as refined during the aforementioned freestyle race last Sunday. Since then, Johaug has taken some downtime at their cabin. "You can feel that you’ve exerted some energy leading up to the season opener, so it was nice to unwind with Nils Jakob (husband) and Kristin (daughter) at the cabin," said the veteran.

Returning this season after two years away from competitive skiing, Johaug feels in better shape than anticipated but acknowledges her body isn’t quite as it was in her glory days. "It takes me a little longer to recover now. But it’s been quite some time since I raced two days in a row, so it’s expected that it may take me longer to do that," she mentioned.

From Beitostølen, I’m taking with me that on a good day I can calm down and ski well technically. And I also see that when I’m not sharp enough, my technique drops off a bit. I just need to get back to the task at hand and focus on what I have to do," Johaug stated.

In Finland, the races will include 10 km classic, a freestyle sprint, and a 20 km mass start in freestyle. Johaug does not view herself as a favorite but rather puts the pressure on her competitors. "I think there are others better positioned to compete for 1st place than me. I will fight, of course, but I am probably not in the same form as I was a few years ago. I hope to get there during the winter. My goal this season is the 50 km in Trondheim (World Championships)," she confessed.

Sweden's Ebba Andersson is seen as a natural favorite in Friday's classic race, and Johaug agrees with that. "She has won here the last two years, and she raced fast in Bruksvallarna. So I feel that she is the biggest favorite. I have to be 100% on everything. Timing, skis, technique, and everything must go my way to keep up with her. Ebba is a strong girl who has been consistently good for many seasons," said the Norwegian skiing star.