The junior talent from Norway is among the best in both cycling and cross-country skiing. And he plans to keep it that way—for a long time.

“I know that at some point I’ll have to choose, but I want to see how long I can postpone that decision. For now, I’m giving 100 percent to both,” says the 17-year-old, who skis for Norwegian ski club Rustad IL and races bikes for IF Frøy.

So far, he’s kept the two sports nearly completely separate: when the Norwegian Cup in skiing wraps up in spring, it’s a full stop for skiing. Then it’s all about mountain biking until the last race of the autumn season.

And according to Emil Longva, he has an ace up his sleeve that more than makes up for any drawbacks.

“I’m always super motivated. When the ski season ends, I’m sick of skiing—but I know the cycling season is coming, with new friends and different competitions. And in the fall, when I’m totally over cycling, I’m super motivated to start ski training again.”

Improving in Both Sports

Emil is convinced he performs better in both sports than he would if he focused on just one. The biggest factor? Joy.

“I never get bored. I think that happiness and motivation raise the quality of my training, and help me reach a higher level in both sports. And because I’m training with higher quality all the time, I’ve also reached a better physical level than I would have if I had specialized in just one,” he says.

Results Speak for Themselves

This past season, he racked up three wins in the Norwegian Cup, a national title in the 10km freestyle, silver in the sprint at the Nordic Junior Match, and third overall in the Norwegian Cup standings.

From the last cycling season, he boasts a national silver in cross-country and bronze in sprint, plus bronze at the Nordic Championships and a 13th place in the Junior World Series in France.

Longva is confident he can continue the dual pursuit for a long time.

“Just look at last year—Jørgen Nordhagen won gold at the Junior World Championships even though he only focused on cycling during the dryland season. And I think he’d be just as good in skiing now if he’d kept that up through winter,” he says.

Nordhagen isn’t the only one who’s balanced skiing and cycling far into his career. Johannes Staune-Mittet and Per Strand Hagenes also landed contracts with UCI World Tour pro teams. And Helene Marie Fossesholm had some of her best ski seasons in the years she also focused on cycling.

Complementary Benefits, But Needs Planning

Emil’s experience is that the two sports complement each other well and offer valuable crossover training effects.

“You build great endurance from skiing, and that helps a lot during the cycling season. But cycling builds massive leg strength, and I benefit hugely from that in skiing, especially in skating.”

The downside for skiing is that he gets almost no upper body or ski-specific strength training for much of the dryland season—while his ski-only competitors enter the winter with a much stronger base in those areas.

“The transition from cycling to skiing is definitely the hardest, especially in classic technique. But it doesn’t take too long—and as long as you accept that the first classic races might not be your best, I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages,” he says.

This winter, even after a training block in Spain focused entirely on cycling right in the middle of ski season, he still managed to hit career-best ski results.

Longva took silver in the skate sprint at the Nordic Junior Match at Gålå (March 21–23), just days after returning from Spain. The following week, he was the fifth-fastest junior in the 10km freestyle at the Norwegian Senior Championships in Hovden—and the fastest of his birth year.

What speaks for or against one sport or the other?

“In Norway, skiing is clearly the biggest sport, and it’s a big deal to do well in it. If you’re good in Norway, you know you’re world-class too,” says Longva.

“But globally, cycling is much bigger. There are more spectators at the races, a much bigger scene around everything, and tons of fans following the sport. And that’s not just for the Tour de France and the big road races—mountain biking World Cups are huge too,” he continues.

“In skiing, there are barely any spectators. Sure, it was packed at the World Championships in Trondheim, but at regular World Cups in Norway, it’s almost empty. There are more people at the junior national races. And there’s more money in cycling.”

But for now, Emil Longva sees a future in both. He’s not wasting energy agonizing over the choice.

“I might reach a point where one of them feels more meaningful. But right now, I can’t choose—so I’m just not going to. I want to see how far I can go in both,” says the 17-year-old from Rustad.

Is there anything that could fast-track the decision?

“A contract with a pro cycling team.”

Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.