She traveled to the opening weekend at Beitostølen hoping to show what she is capable of — and went home with confidence and a ticket to the World Cup opener in Ruka in her pocket.

The 28-year-old entered the opening weekend at Beitostølen with everything to lose and delivered from day one.

On Saturday, Karoline Simpson-Larsen stormed to fourth place in the 10km classic. She followed it up with a firework of a performance in Sunday’s 10km freestyle, which is also on the Olympic program.

Up to Julie Drivenes, the margin was only six-tenths. Behind her, the gap to Heidi Weng in third place was significant.

“It was a bit annoying to lose those last tenths, but it was really fun to be in the fight for the win,” she told Langrenn.com after finishing second.

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World Cup ready

Simpson-Larsen is now rewarded with a spot on the Norwegian team for the World Cup opener in Ruka this weekend, which is also the first step on the road to the 2026 Olympics. For the 28-year-old from Rollag in Numedal, the strong weekend at Beitostølen means more than just a trip to Finland.

Read More: Norwegian national team for the Ruka World Cup premiere

It may have saved her entire career. Even though she has been described as part of the generational shift in Norwegian cross-country skiing, she herself felt that time was running out.

“It means a lot. I’m starting to get a bit older, so I felt like I had a knife to my throat. Either I had to deliver, or I would have to find something else to do. There’s a limit to how long you can race the Norwegian Cup,” she says.

“I’m really relieved to be done with this weekend.”

Simpson-Larsen explains that the last period before the season opener at Beitostølen was heavy. She struggled with nerves.

“Yes. I didn’t feel good the last two weeks, and certainly not in the mornings before the races. It’s not pleasant at all. You don’t understand why you put yourself through it. But when the start gun goes off, you forget everything, and then it’s just fun.”

Read More: Ruka World Cup 2025/2026: Program, start lists and start times for the 10km classic

Do you dare think about the Olympics now?

“No, I don’t really want to focus on the Olympics. My goal is to race more World Cups this season than before and to bring out my potential in them. The step from the World Cup to the Norwegian Cup is small, so it’s all about using the chances you get.”

Why is this coming now?

“I think I’m simply getting paid for many years of training. And when you nail the opening weekend, you gain confidence, lower your shoulders, and can focus on the right things.”

But the fact is that Simpson-Larsen made several drastic changes before the season.

After seven years on the regional team Elon Vest (now SørVest), she chose this spring to join the private team Team Anlegg Øst. There she is, among others, teammates with super talent Einar Hedegart.

The transition has brought several changes.

“Well, first of all, I’m not ‘Karo’ anymore. Now I’ve become ‘Larsen’. But I’m starting to embrace it now,” she tells Langrenn.com with a laugh.

Then she becomes serious again.

“Even though I’m very fond of coach Bjelle and the guys on the Elon team, I think this has been very good for me. I now have a women’s training environment and therefore more competitive training. That’s probably the biggest difference,” she says, continuing:

“And we have a really great setup. We train together in daily life, with at least 4 or 5 joint sessions per week, so I get more training with others. And we’ve had three really good altitude camps.”

Her career could have ended five years ago

Her breakthrough came just in time. She has considered quitting. And the road back has not been simple.

After a sensational debut in the senior ranks, her career could easily have been over.

At the start of the 2020/2021 season, she was denied the right to race, and the rest of the season was lost. She fought her way back, and in the 2022/2023 season, Simpson-Larsen was selected for the national development team. The following spring, she was cut. She returned to the regional team Elon Vest, and a year and a half later she is in the shape of her life.

In January, Simpson-Larsen finished tenth in the 10km at the World Cup in Les Rousses and collected three more top 15 results in the World Cup later that winter.

Does the start ban feel far away now?

“It feels like a long time ago, but that start ban will always be part of me and something I learned extremely much from! It’s easy to forget that period now that things are going well, but I’m genuinely proud that I stood in that situation, worked my way out of it, and have become stronger than ever, even if it took time,” she says.

Simpson-Larsen is honest about the brutal period with the ban.

“Not being allowed to race, having strict restrictions from others telling me how much and what I should train, and feeling like I wasn’t in control was tough. Even though I understood it was meant well and for my best, there was still a lot I had to turn around and work on for it to succeed. It didn’t happen overnight.”

Is it something you still have to focus on?

“When you train as much as I do, this is definitely something I work on every day. Optimizing nutrition related to training is part of being a professional endurance athlete. But now I have much more knowledge and know what I must do for my body to feel good and handle the training I do.”

Simpson-Larsen notes that there has been more focus on nutrition and energy balance lately — a trend she welcomes.

“Nutrition in endurance sports has definitely received more attention in recent years, and understanding its importance for tolerating training and performing is something all endurance athletes should focus on.”

Love in her life

But energy balance isn’t the only thing she has gained control over. Simpson-Larsen has also found love. She is in a relationship with biathlon talent Johan-Olav Botn from Stårheim, and the couple lives in Lillehammer.

“Johan-Olav means a lot to my career. Both as a supporter regardless of how it goes in races, but also as someone I can ask for training advice, discuss training with, and get help from when I need it,” Simpson-Larsen says.

She radiates respect for the work the biathlon comet puts in and the results he achieves.

“When I see all the training he does, I get inspired, and nothing there is random. I have a lot of respect for the knowledge and work he puts in, and that also makes me trust what he says when I ask for advice.”

At the same time, they don’t get to train together very much due to different teams, training camps, and race calendars.

“We each have our own team setups and have been on different altitude camps this summer and autumn, but when it fits, I try to join in.”

This weekend, both are ready for their respective World Cup openers — in different sports.

Johan-Olav Botn is one of seven Norwegian men selected for the biathlon World Cup opener in Östersund from November 29 to December 7. The decision came after the 25-year-old won the sprint at the season opener in Geilo last weekend.

Also Read: Norwegian biathlon teams for the first World Cup and IBU Cup 

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