I visualize myself standing on the podium in Vasaloppet. That's the dream, he says to NRK during a training camp in Italian Livigno.
The talk about Northug – who has taken 13 World Championship golds – making a comeback to the World Championship started after he took silver in the team sprint with little brother Even Northug in the Norwegian Championships (NM) last winter. This was his first NM race since 2018.
He now says it's impossible to qualify for Trondheim and that there are many Norwegian skiers who are far better suited to ski the team sprint with star Johannes Høsflot Klæbo.
Therefore, it's wrong of me to dream about something that seems so impossible, says Northug.
The cocky Norwegian is, however, convinced that it would have gone well if he had been allowed to ski with Klæbo.
I can guarantee that it would have been World Championship gold if I had skied the first leg, together with Johannes, he says and laughs.
Northug will compete in the national Norwegian cross-country skiing premiere in Beitostølen at the end of November. The Norwegian has skied Vasaloppet twice in his career – last winter, Northug finished 18th, and in 2023, he finished 48th in the classic ski competition.
