“There’s no one ahead of me on the results list who has trained less than me. I’m sure about that,” says Øystein “Pølsa” Pettersen after crossing the finish line at the Birkebeinerrennet on Sunday morning.

Øystein “Pølsa” Pettersen and Petter Northug were skiers and Norwegian national teammates for many years while both actively pursued World Cup-level skiing.

On Sunday, they both stood at the same starting line again: Pettersen as an author, podcaster, and lecturer; Northug as a Pro Team athlete with his team, Team Janteloppet.

At the finish line, there was a 14-second difference in favor of Northug. Pettersen finished 46th with a time of 2:34:16.3, and Northug finished 37th with a time of 2:34:02.0, just over ten minutes behind the winner.

Pettersen describes it as a fantastic experience.

“It was delightful. The goal was to cross the finish line with a smile. I have no ambitions to be a champion, but I love to master challenges,” says Pettersen to Langrenn.com, adding:

“But there’s no one ahead of me on the results list who has trained less than me. I’m sure about that.”

The 41-year-old improved his result at Birken from last year when he finished 54th. That was also the last time Pettersen competed in a ski race.

How much do you train now that you’ve retired from the elite level? 

“I train for an hour a day. That’s my life, and it’s perfectly fine,” says Pettersen, who retired from the World Cup level after the 2014 Olympics season.

Pettersen had a clear strategy for Birkebeinerrennet:

“To perform at my best, I start easily instead of pushing hard from the beginning. Many start very hard and then need to slow down to my level,” says Pettersen, continuing:

“I had a very nice run together with many others.”

Petter Northug, who now focuses full-time on long-distance skiing, was in that group. He crossed the finish line with Pettersen’s group after falling behind early in the race.

“The first 20 kilometers are tough, but I found a good group to ski with,” says Northug, adding:

“It was a tough start. There was high speed in the leading group, and then there were other groups. From there on, it was just about staying in the group. The ambition before the start was to hang on as well as I could at the beginning, but then I realized I was not the strongest uphill, so I had to let go a bit. But it was okay.”

The battle for victory in the men’s field ended with a thrilling showdown between defending champion, pre-race favorite Andreas Nygaard, and teammate Johan Hoel from Team Ragde Charge.

Also Read: Nygaard and Smedås dominate Birkebeinerrennet 2024

Best Moments of Birkebeinerrennet 2024 

March 19, 2024 Photo: Ingeborg Scheve / Langrenn.com !!