The biathlon talent who is blowing past the biggest cross-country stars has an enormous capacity and now reveals he has increased his oxygen uptake by ten percent in one year.

“People went completely crazy in the lab,” Einar Hedegart tells Trønder-Avisa.

The 24-year-old from Inderøy, Norway, had just completed a VO2 test that blows the charts apart. He clocked in at 88.8, an outrageous ten-percent improvement from last year. That was in July, and Hedegart hopes he has now passed 90.

Oxygen uptake, or VO2max, is a measure of the body’s ability to absorb and use oxygen—the higher the number, the better. Higher VO2max increases performance in endurance sports such as cross-country skiing.

Impressing the national coach

Hedegart originally planned to keep his test results low-key, but national team coach Eirik Myhr Nossum is impressed when he hears the numbers. He says most national team skiers sit around 85 (mL/kg/min).

Still, Hedegart keeps his feet on the ground. Several factors besides VO2max determine who wins ski races.

“The number is high, but it doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to ski insanely fast. There are several factors: day form, skis, conditions, and technique. Just because I’ve increased my oxygen uptake by ten percent doesn’t mean I ski ten percent faster,” he says.

For comparison, Bjørn Dæhlie reportedly measured 96 at the peak of his career. The former ski star is said to have the highest recorded value in the World.

Also Read: VO2max – Who has the highest values in history?

Selecting himself for the Olympics

Hedegart now has three straight World Cup podiums in cross-country skiing, plus two wins and a second place in the three races he has done this season.

First, he crushed the entire Norwegian national team at the season opener in Beitostølen and secured a place in the World Cup opener in Ruka. There, he repaid the trust with a second place in the mass start, showing himself as clearly one of the strongest in the field. It was also his first-ever mass start in cross-country, and after the race, he gave himself poor marks for tactics.

In Sunday’s 10km freestyle individual start, he crushed both Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Harald Østberg Amundsen. That event is also on the Olympic program in February.

And now, after three straight World Cup podiums—including a win in an Olympic discipline—the biathlete is becoming hard to ignore for Olympic selection. He himself is crystal clear on the matter.

“I’m selecting myself now,” Hedegart grinned live after the victory in Trondheim.

Switched to cross-country

Hedegart was already skiing extremely fast last winter, and after the season, he signed with the Norwegian private team Team Anlegg Øst Entreprenør.

And it was this summer, after a few months of cross-country–focused training, that he shocked the lab technicians.

Langrenn.com spoke to head coach Emil Hosøy about what they have done with the rising star.

“We’ve put together a solid plan with altitude camps, treadmill sessions, and close daily follow-up. In addition, we have a waxing team that really works hard to make sure we show up with the best possible skis on our feet.”

What have been the most important tasks you’ve given him or worked on with him?

“On the training side, just some small adjustments: a bit on intensity, more altitude training, and a goal of developing his already good skating technique to be even more efficient.”

When did you decide he should go all-in for cross-country?

“He is on a cross-country team, and the training has been extra focused on cross-country. But we always planned to do the season opener in biathlon and the season opener in cross-country, then take stock afterward,” Hosøy says, adding that the counting didn’t take long.

“Now it’s cross-country. And with the opening he had this weekend, anything is possible in the weeks ahead.”

Changed his training

The only athlete close to Hedegart both in Beitostølen and Trondheim is Andreas Fjorden Ree, the newcomer to the elite national team.

Fjorden Ree is also one of those with sky-high VO2max. The 25-year-old from Støren attributes it to switching to an unconventional training plan.

Read More – Changed training: Increased VO2max from 71 to 81.5 in half a year

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