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Tag: Morten Aa Djupvik

  • Norwegian National Team Coach Morten Aa Djupvik Resigns

    After five years as the head coach for the Norwegian national cross-country team, the 36-year-old calls it quits. He wants to spend more time with his family.

    “It’s been a very emotional day for me, and I admit I have cried a few tears. It turned out to be a harder decision than what I had expected,” Djupvik said to NRK.

    He spent Wednesday calling the team athletes to bring them the news. At 2:30pm, he called Petter Northug. Northug was taking a nap when the coach called. Djupvik recalled the “emotional” conversation like this:

    “At first it was uncomfortably silent from the other end of the line. Then he asked if this was something I was considering or if I had made the decision. When I said I had made the decision, he was disappointed,” said Aa Djupvik, who has coached Northug as long as the star skier has been a part of the senior national team.

    Northug has won 13 championship medals, including nine gold medals, with Aa Djupvik as the head national team coach.

    150 travel days

    Aa Djupvik took over as the head coach for the men’s cross-country team after the 2006 Olympic season. In January, he became a dad for the first time, when his son Emil was born. And it is exactly family considerations that led Aa Djupvik to resign.

    “We have almost 150 travel days each year, and it is a challenge to combine that lifestyle with raising a family. I also feel that we are at a fork in the road right now. We just completed a World Championship season, and are now reloading for the next World Championships and the upcoming 2014 Olympics. So I think it’s in the best interest of the team that they get a new coach now who can commit at least until after the 2014 Sochi Games,” Aa Djupvik said.

    Aa Djupvik explained that the decision is the result of a long evaluation both with himself and with his family.

    Criticism

    The Norwegian national team has performed well under Aa Djupvik’s coaching tenure, but he has also been criticized for his leadership style.

    Leading up to the 2011 World Championships, the athletes were asking for a tougher coach and clearer communication. He has also been criticized for the lack of performance for the team as a whole, aside from Petter Northug. But after the 2011 World Championships in Holmenkollen where Eldar Rønning, Tord Asle Gjerdalen and Martin Johnsrud Sundby all earned individual medals, the critical voices died down. And the 2011 Worlds in Holmenkollen are also Aa Djupvik’s fondest memory from his coaching career with the Norwegian national team.

    “The men’s relay gold in Holmenkollen is the highlight of my coaching career. The biggest disappointment was the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver where we were beat by the Swedes,” Aa Djupvik said.

    From NRK.no, April 13, 2011. By Anders Rove Berntsen, translation by Inge Scheve

  • Fighting Over Tears on Public TV

    In a book published in Norway on April 12, John Northug – Petter Northug’s father and manager – says he has never witnessed a more severe invasion of privacy than what he saw when the Norwegian government-supported TV station NRK transmitted Northug’s victory tears from the finish line at 2011 World Championships in Holmenkollen in February.

    Sunday February 27, 2011, Petter Northug became the World Champion of the 30K mass start pursuit. It was Northug’s first World Championship gold medal in Holmenkollen. National team head coach Morten aa Djupvik was equipped with a miniature microphone from NRK when he went over to Northug in the paddock. The world Champion was crying, while his dad John displayed his joy on live on VGTV from the stands.

    Already the next day John Northug announced to the Norwegian online newspaper VG Nett that he was upset with the national TV station’s handling of the situation. In a book launched this week titled “Gull og Grønne Svensker” (literal translation: “Gold and Green Swedes”) written by Thorkild Gundersen, a journalist writing for the men’s magazine “Vi Menn” (translation: “Us Men”), the manager/dad is lashing out at the media and NRK in particular.

    “This is exactly what we’ve worked so hard at – protecting him the first seconds after he crosses the finish line, allowing him some privacy and staying out of his intimate zone right after the race is over. Now, I don’t think this incident damaged Petter’s image, but at the same time, I think NRK is going far across the line by broadcasting the sound track along with the images, and showing it on TV at the same time as they filmed Petter’s reaction to the broadcast from the couch in the TV studio. This is about the principle of privacy,” John Northug says in the book.

    Petter Northug was shown the footage of himself on the couch while he was in the studio with NRK reporter Espen Graff a few hours later, without knowing that NRK filmed him crying.

    “When I was sitting there on the couch I didn’t particularly enjoy the footage and the sound track. But it wasn’t something that made me mad at NRK, I was just so incredibly happy over the gold medal that I gladly handled seeing myself cry on TV,” Petter Northug said in the book.

    “The inconvenience of seeing myself sob on TV was something I just decided to forgive and forget. There was so much more left of the Championships and I just thought it would be stupid to spend any energy on being annoyed,” he explained.

    However, John Northug experienced the episode as extremely invasive.

    “It felt like an extreme invasion of privacy as it was happening. And to put it bluntly: After dealing with ‘Se og Hør’ (Ed. Norway’s Number 1 celebrity magazine) trailing our footsteps for five years, we’ve become used to a fair amount of media presence, but nothing they have done has been anywhere close to this,” John Northug said.

    Norwegian Ski Association’s media spokesman Otto Ulseth explained that he had a stern discussion with Norwegian national coach Morten Aa Djupvik after this incident.

    “Morten apologized to Petter immediately after we had talked,” Ulseth said to VG.

    NRK sports editor Rune Haug also apologized.

    “We understand the issue John Northug brought up, and we recognize that we used bad judgment in this case by not informing Petter Northug about what he would see from the couch in the TV studio that night. I can understand that Petter felt a little caught off guard,” Haug said to VG.

    Norway’s national team director Åge Skinstad explained that in general, they are careful about using microphones around the racers.

    “This is an incident we quickly put behind us. The microphone Morten was wearing was the last thing he was thinking about when he ran out to greet Petter in the paddock after the race,” Skinstad recalled.

    From VG.no, April 12, 2011 By Camilla Vesteng, translation by Inge Scheve

  • Biathlete Svendsen Cut from Norwegian Relay Lineup

    The third leg for the Norwegian relay team is still open for grabs, but the pool of qualified grabbers is shrinking by the minute. Both Tord Asle Gjerdalen and championship rookie Sjur Røhte delivered solid bids for the third leg on Friday.

    Biathlete Emil Hegle Svendsen was long expected to round out the cross-country team for the 4x10K realy, but after the 30K pursuit at the 2011 World Championships in Holmenkollen, he will be cut loose to focus on racing with a rifle on his back. Svendsen admits that he would have liked to fill the spot.

    “I still think I ski faster than any of the alternatives, and I really would have liked to ski there. But this will be good too,” Svendsen said to Norwegian television station NRK after he got the call from national team coach Morten Aa Djupvik Sunday afternoon.

    No comparison

    Djupvik said to NRK that after the 30K performances from Sjur Røhte and Tord Asle Gjerdalen Sunday, he feels he feels more comfortable starting one of the cross-country skiers than the biathlete.

    “We don’t have any recent cross-country specific results from Svendsen to compare him to the team skiers,” Djupvik said, emphasizing that Svendsen by all means is a very strong skier.

    “We feel more comfortable choosing one of those two skiers, now that we have solid results from them,” Djupvik concluded.

    While there are several strong skiers in the squad, Djupvk has narrowed it down to Røhte or Gjerdalen. He won’t make a final decision until after the men’s 15K classic on Tuesday.

    “We feel that Tord Asle and Sjur are the strongest alternatives, but we’re not sure who will race. It will be a difficult decision. After the 15K we’ll have to sit down and consider all the aspects. It can go both ways,” Djupvik said.

    Pride

    There is a lot at stake for the Norwegian men with the relay. The Norwegians have proud traditions for fielding strong relay teams, and with the World Championships at home, the pressure is on.

    “If the guys can win the gold as a team, that is just one shade bigger than an individual medal. The gold is the biggest honor, and we’ll be fighting for it,” Djupvik said.

    Barring sickness, injuries and major catastrophes, Svendsen will be racing all the events at the 2011 Biathlon World Championships in Khanty-Mansyisk (RUS), which begin on March 3.

  • Surprising Norwegian Lineup for the Men’s 30K Pursuit

    Surprising Norwegian Lineup for the Men’s 30K Pursuit

    Eirik Brandsdal

    Eirik Brandsdal is the wild card to the Norwegian team for the 30K pursuit Sunday. While defending World Champion Petter Northug was a given, and Sjur Røhte, Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Tord Asle Gjerdalen have proven themselves in distance events, few had guessed Eirik Brandsdal as the last one. Unfortunately, the selection is a result of sickness: Petter Eliassen was originally selected for the 30K pursuit, but he is sitting out due to illness. Another hot guess, Eldar Rønning, opted out in order to focus on the 15K classic on Tuesday.

    “Eirik was a good sport and agreed to race when asked,” said Morten Aa Djupvik, Norway’s national team head coach. “We had five spots in the race and wanted to fill all of them in a World Championship on home turf.”

    And home turf indeed it is for Brandsdal, who grew up only minutes from the venue and has raced in Holmenkollen since he was in elementary school. Needless to say, Brandsdal is excited to race one more time in front of the famous Kollen crowd.

    “I was given a unique opportunity to show my very best again. I think it will be amazing,” he said at the press conference Saturday morning. Brandsdal is currently also an alternate to the sprint relay, but doesn’t think racing the pursuit will hamper his chances if he is called on for the sprint relay.

    For the other racers on the team, the pursuit is an important bid for the 4×10 kilometer relay on Friday.

    “Theoretically, all spots on the relay team are up for grabs, but some names are better bets than others,” said Otto Ulseth, press attaché for the Norwegian men’s team.

    Ulseth mentioned Petter Northug, as one of those safe bets, and said they will decide by Monday, but emphasizes that there are a lot of candidates in the squad. Biathlete Emil Hegle Svendsen is another strong candidate, but it all depends on how the other cross-country skiers do in the pursuit on Sunday.

  • Russian Men, Norwegian Women Dominate at Beito

    BEITOSTØLEN, Norway – Alexander Legkov (RUS) was about a minute ahead of the top Norwegian racer, Geir Ludvig Aasen Ouren, in fourth place.  Given that Aasen Ouren is not a part of the Norwegian national ski team, he more or less secured himself a spot on the impulse World Cup team for the season opener in Gällivare (SWE) next weekend.

    And while the season opener is an anticipated event that both racers and fans look forward to for weeks, it is generally not an event the skiers peak for. Rumors have it that the Russians put in about 700 kilometers on snow over the past 12 days leading up to Friday’s race. “What Legkov does is simply impressive. The 15K skate is arguably the event with the stiffest competition, and when Legkov dominates the way he did today, it’s a real wakeup call for us,” said Norwegian national team coach Morten Aa Djupvik to Norwegian television station NRK.

    Petter Northug Jr was 49th, more than three and a half minute behind Legkov, but isn’t worried. Neither is Djupvik. ”I’m totally in control. I will race the next two events here, and then I’ll drop my hours leading up to Gällivare next weekend. I think I will be in much better shape by then,” Northug said to NRK after Friday’s race.

    “That’s the way the best racers think. (Northug) dares to train hard right up to the World Cup season opener. Today he had a bad day, and he didn’t push himself,” Djupvik says.

    Complete results here: Beito 15K men

    Triple Norwegian for the women

    If the Russians dominate the men’s field, the Norwegians were equally superior in the women’s race. Therese Johaug won the 10K skate with more than 40 seconds to spare, crossing the finish line in 28:17.4. She opened hard and just kept hammering.

    “I had a great race today. My body was responding and that makes it fun to race,” Johaug said.

    While Johaug knew she was fit going into the race, the season opener is always exciting, she said.

    “I was nervous before start. After all, this was the first race, but I’ve felt good at practice lately. I’ve worked a lot with my technique this year, and that helps me conserve energy,” Johaug said to NRK.

    Kristin Størmer Steira was second, but no less thrilled with her first race. Having battled injuries, including two fractures in her foot this dryland season, she has done more alternative training than traditional dryland workouts.

    “This just felt incredibly good,” Steira said to NRK after the race. “I’m surprised. I had no expectations at all, and was just happy to be able to race. That’s more than I expected just a couple of weeks ago,” Steira said.

    “But I have more to offer. I ski technically well, and have a good feel for the snow, but I only have one gear. That’s how it goes when you’ve done a lot of volume and lack that little extra,” Steira explained.

    Half a foot of fresh powder overnight and falling snow throughout the morning made for a tough day on the course.

    Complete results here: Beito 10K Women

  • Northug skips the rest of Toppidrettsveka

    AURE, NORWAY – Cross country skier Petter Northug (NOR) leaves Aure and the rest of the events at Toppidrettsveka. Northug completed two of four events.

    Toppidrettsveka started out as an elite Norwegian week of competitions, camps and challenges that evolved into an international week of camps and competitions in the northwest part of Norway. The past two years it has featured World Cup roller ski events, and this summer acted as test events for the rollerski World Championships next year.

    The reason for leaving is that Northig doesn’t want to take any chances with his training program in the important World Championship season, on home turf this time.

    After talking to national team coach Morten Aa Djupvik, Northug concluded that two events at Toppidrettsveka was enough this time. “I think Petter has had enough hard workouts for a few days, and doesn’t want to risk anything. That’s why he skips the last two events this weekend. He will start preparing for the national team camp in Seiser Alm/Livigno at the end of August/early September,” says Djupvik.

    Northug will do VO2max testing at the Olympic development center in Oslo (Toppidrettssenteret) as well as some presentations for the National Ski Association (Skiforbundet) the coming week.

    From Langrenn.com, August 13, 2010. Translation by Inge Scheve (©NTB)

  • Norway: More running, less rollerskiing

    MERÅKER, NORWAY – According to the national team head coach Morten Aa Djupvik, there are no better, more efficient methods to increase overall capacity than running. Accordingly, the national team is changing the mix, increasing the amount of running, at the expense of roller skiing.

    The Norwegian national team started the new program with a bounding workout in Petter Northug’s home turf Meråkerfjellet on Monday. On a scale from 1 to 10 where 10 is utter exhaustion, Northug admitted that the initial foot workout was hard.

    “I’d say eight or nine on a scale from 1 to 10,” Northug said to Norwegian TV station TV2 after the workout.

    Northug and his teammates had just completed the workout that is characterized by the coaching panel as one of the toughest in the book, commonly known as hill bounding intervals or “moosehuf’ing.” Translation: six 6-minute intervals up steep suctiony dirt roads in the hills behind Northug’s hometown Meråker.

    “This is insanely hard, and it’s key to stay within your target heart rate zone,” says As Djupvik while reviewing his athletes’ heart rates from the morning running workout.

    More running
    During the Meråker training camp this week, the seven members of the men’s national team are accompanied by six guys and seven women from the U23 national team. Northug and his teammates will have to get used to their running shoes this fall leading up to the 2010-11 season with World Championship in Oslo. The national team coaches have evaluated the situation, and made some adjustments.

    “We’re increasing the amount of running substantially from last year, at the expense of roller skiing. We believe nothing beats running when it comes to increasing the capacity, and we think these changes will lift us another level this season,” Aa Djupvik says.

    While the snow and the season opener racers are still months away, Northug appears to be on track. ”I feel good, but the key is to stay injury free and train smart. I’m very confident of my training program, and the only adjustment I’ve made this season is more running,” Northug says.

    “Petter is better at bounding this season than he was in June. Aside from that, things are as usual, he’s improving slowly but surely,” Aa Djupvik concludes after the Monday workout.

    Northug expects more Norwegians on the podium
    While the goal for the workout wasn’t necessarily to be the first to the top, the two rookies on the team, Kristian Tettli Rennemo and Petter Eliassen, impressed everyone up the steep dirt roads. The margins on the international circuit were miniscule last season, and everything counts.

    “This year we’ve had great energy at the training camps, so now we have to make sure we carry everyone with us into the ski season. Who knows, we might just have five or six racers among the top in the World Cup,” Northug predicts.

    Watch Northug bound

    From www.langrenn.com and www.TV2.no, translation by Inge Scheve