Criticism of drastic measure: – The leadership is gambling

– There is indeed a bit about the signal effect it sends to cut three out and go from nine to three on a national team. It is certainly unfortunate, says Espen Bjørnstad to NRK.

After the opening of combined skiing at Beitostølen, Bjørnstad and Kasper Moen Flatla took the opportunity to strongly criticize the national team management.

In preparation for the World Championship on home soil in February, the number of national team spots has been cut from 13 to only six athletes. This includes both genders.

In comparison, there were a total of nine male competitors wearing national team uniforms last year.

– We are struggling a bit to bring up new talent behind the best right now. More effort should be put into development, so it’s unfortunate that it is this way, says Bjørnstad to NRK.

UTE: Espen Bjørnstad (right) celebrates Olympic gold in the relay with Jørgen Graabak. He is now out of the national team.

Both he and Moen Flatla have landed on the B-national team this season. The latter states that the differences became clear when he attended a camp with Kollenhopp earlier this season.

– We were in Lillehammer during the summer, and there were 15–16 athletes under one coach. Meanwhile, the national team had three to four athletes distributed among seven support staff. How that resource allocation works is not entirely favorable in my view, says Moen Flatla.

Concern for recruitment

Jørgen Graabak, Ida Marie Hagen, Gyda Westvold Hagen, Mari Leinan Lund, Jarl Magnus Riiber, and Lurås Oftebro should ensure Norwegian celebrations in the World Championship tracks this winter.

However, how to fill in after our biggest stars raises concerns, especially from the athletes themselves:

– The last one to come up was Jens (Lurås Oftebro), and before that it was me. More resources should be put into developing those behind us too. We need to increase the number of teams, says Bjørnstad to NRK.

Teammate Moen Flatla responds to questions about his fears regarding the consequences:

– When Jørgen retires and Jarl has mentioned that he might retire after 2026, and maybe some of those behind who are also hesitating now will leave, then there's quite a gap to the next bunch still in the game.

He continues:

– That’s my biggest fear, that in two to three years we will have very few competitors left and that they will struggle to score points in the continental cup. That’s my biggest concern, says Moen Flatla.

The combined skiers say they have tried to address this issue with the national team management.

– We tried to bring it up carefully at a meeting earlier this fall, but then I was told that the teams needed to work a bit harder to come up with a better plan, says Moen Flatla.

Not enough resources

NRK addressed this issue with combined chief Ivar Stuan at Beitostølen. He pointed to the resources they have as the reason for the large cuts leading into the World Championship season on home soil.

– We want to create a team together with the men’s and women’s teams, and we want to focus our efforts even more. Last year, there were ten male athletes, including (Kristjan) Ilves (Estonian combined skier), in the men’s team, and we thought that was too much. Not because there was anything wrong with any of the athletes who were there; they were all fantastic, but we don’t have enough resources to support ten athletes at a national team level. That’s why we decided to narrow it down, says Stuan.

LEADER: Ivar Stuan defends the decision made around the national teams this season.

The B-team athletes have reacted to the resource allocation earlier this season. Stuan understands that those on the outside want to be included but points out that this focus has yielded results.

– As for jumping, I think it has been very beneficial sometimes. Because we have been able to focus on the areas we are working on in terms of both equipment and technical aspects. For those athletes who have been here, it has been fantastic, he says.

– But if there are some who are outside the national team, there can be ten athletes with one coach, while the national team athletes are the opposite. How do you think that feels?

– For those on the outside, they want to be inside. From what I gather, the athletes on ‘Elite B,’ as we call it, are quite satisfied with the arrangements they've had in Oslo (Kollenhopp), Lillehammer (Team Olympiaparken), and Trondheim (Trønderhopp). In total, I believe it's good, but we must evaluate this, just as we do in other areas.

– It’s very special before a World Championship season on home soil. We would have loved to have space for 100 athletes, but we don't have that. However, we would gladly accommodate more.

Leadership is gambling

NRK expert Magnus Moan believes the drastic cuts in the lead-up to Ski-VM in Trondheim are inappropriate.

He points out that ultimately it is the team that suffers.

– I’m puzzled by that. I’m puzzled that they have only selected three on the men's side and three on the women's side. Because in combined, it’s crucial to have not only a naturally strong team but also to develop the next generation that needs to come up. The signal effect might not be the very best when there are so few on a team.

EXPERT: Magnus Moan is critical of the national team having fewer spots. Here depicted during the season opener in Beitostølen.

He believes the decision appears to be a gamble:

– Yes, I do actually think that the national team management has done that this year. I think they've gambled. Especially with a World Championship on home soil. There should be something special about being on a team. Yes, Jarl, Jens, and Jørgen are the front figures. They are the ones who have performed best, alongside Ida Marie and Gyda among the women. But open that door then to the next best. I think they are missing the mark by not doing so, he says.

He fears that the management's decision will undermine recruitment.

– It becomes very difficult, and the consequences are that you have no one to draw from, really. Athletes who are weighing whether they should focus on combined or jumping for instance. It’s happened before. If they see that in jumping they are working differently. Well then, they go to jumping, he concludes.