Combined, Ski | Make drastic cuts – the wreckage of the elite team

On Thursday, the combined national teams for the coming season were presented.

A season where the WC in Trondheim is the big goal for everyone.

Entering the biggest season of their careers for many of the athletes, the combined camp makes drastic cuts.

In that lies extra emphasis on the best, which in turn goes beyond the second best.

From 13 to six

– There is no doubt that this season is the most exciting season we have had since the WC in Oslo in 2011. We have had Olympic seasons in the meantime, but the WC in Nordic disciplines on home soil is something very special in Norway, says sports director Ivar The living room in a press release.

– That is why we are sharpening our elite A investment. To stay at the forefront, we have to optimize the system around the very, very best, continues Stuan.

This means that only six athletes get a place on the elite combined team, three women and three men.

Last season the number was 13.

The supreme Gyda Westvold Hansen from Dalsbygda was toppled from the throne when Ida Marie Hagen won the overall World Cup last season.

Both of them are naturally part of the team.

The same is true of Mari Leinan Lund, despite the fact that a nasty injury in March this year means that she will probably lose the WC next year.

Out

When the women were allowed to compete in the WC for the first time during the championship in Oberstdorf in 2021, it became triple Norwegian with Westvold Hansen, Leinan Lund and little sister Marte Leinan Lund.

The latter did not have a good season last year and is now a wreck from the A team.

She has been given a place on the team called Elite B, which is a newly started group.

Elite B as well as the junior and recruit national team will largely be looked after in the regional teams in Trondheim, Lillehammer and Oslo.

– Now it is up to them right behind to show themselves. And they also have good opportunities. Because we have five starting places in the WC after the success in Planica. It will be a fierce battle to make the team in both the World Cup before the WC and not least in the WC squad. We in the national team management have challenged the athletes at elite B to come forward with their wishes and needs, so we will go to great lengths to help them on the road to the WC in Trondheim, says Stuan.

He does not hide the fact that money is a reason for the drastic cuts.

– This is also about economics. It is not sustainable to have as many athletes on the national team as we have had. We want to use the funds on the best, especially towards the WC in Trondheim and, for the boys, also the Olympics in Italy in 2026, says Stuan.

In the Olympics, the quotas will be smaller than before, so that there will probably only be three Norwegian men at the start.

The women are not allowed to participate in the Olympics in 2026.

– Then it is also natural to have fewer athletes on the elite team, so that our coaches can spend even more time with the very best, says Ivar Stuan.