Two forgotten race bibs, a yellow card, and being called out live by NRK’s commentator: the Ski Classics season opener didn’t go quite as planned.

“The race weekend in Bad Gastein didn’t go particularly well,” admits the 31-year-old from Team Rustad IL, who secured his first Ski Classics victory in April.

Magnus Waaler explains to Langrenn.com that neither his equipment nor routines were in order during the opening weekend in Austria, and last week’s results reflected that.

“In the long race, I couldn’t keep up with Ishida (Masako) on the flat. That says a lot, maybe mostly about my skis,” Waaler says.

Sleeping with His Bib On

The skis and form not being up to par is one thing, but the competition routines for basic essentials were even worse—almost costing Waaler his entire race weekend.

“Before Saturday’s race, I forgot my bib at the hotel. I realized this 10 minutes before the start. I managed to get a replacement bib, but the jury gave me a yellow card for it,” he tells Langrenn.com.

Waaler thought he’d learned his lesson. But no.

“On Sunday, I double-checked to make sure I hadn’t forgotten my bib again, and right before warming up, my bag was without the bib. It was still at home in bed. So, two days in a row, I forgot it. Luckily, I managed to rush back and grab it just in time,” he says, relieved that he avoided disaster on the second day:

“If you get two yellow cards in Ski Classics, you’re disqualified. In the future, I’ll sleep with my bib on.”

Called Out in Prime Time

On top of the bib crisis, Waaler was also called out for all to hear during Norwegian channel, NRK’s prime-time broadcast. The judgment from the state channel’s commentator wasn’t great for the ego.

“Simen Østensen said during Saturday’s broadcast that I’m a ski influencer and better known for that than for my results in Ski Classics,” Waaler says.

The Rustad skier, who claimed his first Ski Classics victory in April, says Østensen’s jab was a real wake-up call.

“That’s something I want to change this season!”

Now Magnus Waaler echoes Kristine Stavås Skistad after her quarterfinal exit during her World Cup season debut in Lillehammer: “Back home to train.”

Sprint to Catch Up

The next competition in Ski Classics is the 3 Zinnen Ski Marathon in Northern Italy, mid-January. Between now and then, Waaler is gearing up with intense training.

“I’ll focus on the SkiErg machine—that’s something I haven’t done much of yet. I believe some proper hard sessions on that will make a big difference. Otherwise, I’ll just put in hour after hour on the artificial snow loop at Skullerud. It’s a short loop, but after training on a small trail at Skåla this summer, I’m used to long sessions on short tracks,” Waaler says.

The Talk of the Summer

There’s a reason Østensen calls Waaler a ski influencer.

The 31-year-old from Team Rustad IL became the talk of the skiing community this summer after opting for a unique, locally sourced altitude training camp at Skåla, at 1850 meters. Waaler worked as a cabin host there during the summer, spending three-hour daily sessions on a 780-meter trail he groomed himself.

“That’s about 100 laps back and forth in that trail over three hours. The conditions were far from ideal—poor snow and an isolated location—so it’s definitely training for the truly dedicated,” Waaler told Langrenn.com during his altitude stint.

An Accidental Skier

Waaler’s journey to becoming a full-time Ski Classics competitor is purely coincidental.

Until August 2022, he’d never done any skiing or competitive sports. He joined an Oslo club and started skiing less than three years ago, debuting in long-distance races just a year and a half ago.

Initially, it was solely to qualify for the Lysebotn Opp event as part of content creation for the Blink Festival, which required participants to belong to a ski club. He joined the nearest club and entered his first ski race.

“It was awful. I finished dead last, and it was absolutely terrible,” Waaler says.

But after Blink, he decided to attend a group training session with Rustad since he’d already paid the membership fee. That experience was entirely different.

“It was so much fun. So, I kept going, and now here I am, about to start my second serious season in Ski Classics,” Waaler concludes.

Read more: Magni Smedås on sleep struggles