Just a week and a half ago, Einar Hedegart became the Norwegian biathlon champion for the first time.

On Thursday evening, head coach Emil Hosøy revealed to Langrenn.com that Hedegart has signed with the Norwegian private cross-country team Team Anlegg Øst for the coming season.

This winter, Hedegart has actually had more success in cross-country skiing than in biathlon. The 23-year-old from Inderøy has competed in two World Cup rounds in cross-country skiing. In Holmenkollen, less than two weeks ago, he finished second, beating the entire World Cup elite. He has also notched up three wins and one second place in the Norwegian Cup this winter. Again and again, he’s asked whether he’ll switch to cross-country.

Headhunted to Private Team

Hedegart’s move to Team Anlegg Øst is thanks in large part to the efforts of one of the team’s athletes, Kasper Herland.

Both Herland and Hedegart live and train in Lillehammer, and over the course of the winter, Herland “sold” the idea of Team Anlegg Øst enough to get Hedegart into an informal conversation with Hosøy in early March.

“It was very casual at first, but things quickly escalated, and we came to a good solution that everyone is happy with,” says Hosøy.

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Responsible for Cross-Country Training

Hedegart now becomes one of six athletes on Team Anlegg Øst for the 2025–26 season—but the only biathlete.

“Einar will take part in all our group training sessions and camps through the summer and fall leading up to the biathlon season opener in November. We’ll see how things go. I expect he’ll compete in some cross-country races in addition to biathlon, but that depends on how the season starts,” says Hosøy.

His responsibility on the team will be strictly on the cross-country training side. Hedegart has his own shooting coach who will continue to work with him on that aspect.

“Plan A is for Einar to race biathlon this winter. But the path is made by walking, as they say,” Hosøy tells Langrenn.com.

“It’s a narrow gate to get through, but we hope to help him take the next step and move further out into the world.”

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