Karoline Knotten is kicking off her first altitude training camp since her shocking exclusion from the Norwegian national team in April. “I enjoy it here,” she says.

Despite finishing 14th overall in the World Cup last winter and being the second-best Norwegian biathlete, Karoline Knotten was dropped from the Norwegian national team in April. However, since she finished in the top 15 of the World Cup standings last year, she is guaranteed a start in the World Cup at the beginning of next season and is now pursuing an independent path toward the 2026 Olympics.

The 30-year-old from Lillehammer has assembled her own private support team, with her mother and former national team coach Roger Grubben in the lead, and her father Iver and brother Haakon in supporting roles.

This week, Knotten began her first altitude training block of the preseason and her first trip abroad since being dropped from the national team.

“I enjoy it here”

Over the next three weeks, Knotten will be training in Bessans, in the French Alps, a location she had previously visited with the national team. She arrived there on Tuesday, July 1.

“I enjoy it here. It’s a good stadium, there are lots of bike paths and many places to roller ski, both on flat terrain and in the mountains, and I know several nice running routes. And of course, the altitude is what’s interesting for me,” she told NordicMag.

Also Read: Knotten after being cut: Signals a reckoning with the national team

Belgium and Italy

This time, Knotten is in Bessans alone, accompanied by her parents as support, and the plan is to do most of the training on her own.

“But I might do a few sessions with the Belgian national team,” says Knotten.

The Belgian biathlon team will be in Bessans until July 13. The team includes Lotte Lie, who is half Norwegian and also lives and trains in Lillehammer. Last year, Lie won her first championship medal in biathlon.

The Italian national team is also holding an altitude camp at the same location over the coming days.

Doubts about the program

Knotten says she still doesn’t fully understand why she was dropped and admits it hurts to feel unwanted.

Before the Norwegian national team selection in April, she said she wanted to think things through after being presented with a training plan and roadmap toward the Olympics. She wanted to make some adjustments based on her own experiences. She asked about the philosophy behind the plan, the development strategy, reflections from the past season, and what improvements they were planning to make.

“Those questions are probably what made them feel I didn’t have full trust or belief in them, so they chose not to include me. And the way it was handled is not something I can stand behind,” says Knotten.

Read More: “I feel unwanted, it hurts”

More outside the national team

Knotten isn’t the only one to question the national team’s setup ahead of the Olympic season.

Emilie Kalkenberg (27) is leaving the Norwegian Association after seven years on the national team, opting instead for her own private training program alongside her younger brother, Kasper Kalkenberg. The 19-year-old is considered one of the world’s top biathlon talents but has chosen to decline a spot on the national team after just one year.

Also Read: Breaking away from the Norwegian National Team for his own setup: “An easy choice”

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