“It’s going to be a lot of training this summer”

Summer training
The World Cup winner is ready to roll up his sleeves and send his partner out to get some peace and quiet: He has big ambitions, and the time until the start of the season will pass quickly.

During last year’s World Championships in Planica, Harald Østberg Amundsen won silver in the 15-kilometer freestyle “without the greatest feeling.” This winter, he won the overall World Cup ahead of Johannes Høsflot Klæbo.

Now, the 25-year-old from Asker is chasing gold at the winter World Championships on home soil, specifically in the 10-kilometer race and possibly on several distances. At the same time, the World Cup winner is clear that neither medals nor a place in the World Championship squad are guaranteed. There is no shortage of training enthusiasm. Winter’s merits have given both a taste for more and confidence in that regard.

Also Read: How Harald Østberg Amundsen can beat Klæbo?

What are you going to do to achieve those goals?

“I know that if I am to have a good season, I must do everything right so that I get the most out of the training I put in. Either you have to go all in, or you have to quit. I’m not so fond of training that I bother doing things halfway. Now I’m going to take even bigger steps next year,” he tells Langrenn.com and continues:

“I want to compete in the 10 kilometers classic at the World Championships, and then I obviously have to take a bigger step in the classic. I have already taken some steps in classic this season, but it’s about finding the stability in classic that I have in skating. I almost always have good results there. So, it’s about finding that same flow. And then I have to continue with sprint training. I see that it has produced results, so I won’t say no to participating in sprint sessions or speed training with some of the faster ones on the team.”

In this context, it is no disadvantage for Amundsen that the two elite national teams for men are now merged into one, instead of dividing the squad into one sprint team and one distance team. Nor is it a disadvantage that Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is back on the team (although he will conduct much of his season preparation in the autumn according to his own plan).

“It’s great, and it’s nice that there are so many of us now. Then we become less vulnerable if someone is sick. Now we become a large group at each gathering regardless. And we can exploit each other’s experiences and qualities even more,” says Amundsen.

The story continues below.

Harald Østberg Amundsen is looking forward to matching himself against Johannes Høsflot Klæbo also in training in the season preparation towards the World Championships on home soil next winter. Photo: Simon Hastegård/Bildbyrån

Are you doing anything different towards the upcoming season and as preparation for the World Championships in Trondheim?

“There is a lot of the training I have done over the past year that has been very good, so obviously I will keep a lot of that. But next season will be a bit different when there are championships,” says Amundsen to Langrenn.com, and elaborates:

“I will probably prioritize certain (especially important) races more, and dare to include more training periods during the winter. This year, it was very much like World Cup weekends all the time, so I never managed to include any good training periods. So now it will be a bit different in the winter. But much of the training year up until November will probably be very similar.”

The lack of real training periods during the season made the second half of the season challenging.

“It felt very good until Christmas. Then I was in the mountains at Christmas and got some training then, and the Tour de Ski went very well. But after the Tour de Ski and towards the end of the season, it swung much more. You feel that the body gets poorer and poorer conditions,” says Amundsen, explaining:

“Some days were great, and some were heavier, and you feel that you just have to float on surplus. Right at the end, it became extreme. Then it was like a very good day could punish the day after, because then I didn’t have much energy for that day. Then I could only tolerate one or maybe two races in a row.”

Also Read: 2023/2024 World Cup: Final standings after Falun

He and his partner Hedda have recently returned from a holiday on the French Riviera, and now the preparations for the World Championship season are starting for real.

Towards the season start, significant training volumes will be put in.

“It’s going to be a lot of training this summer,” Amundsen tells TV2.

And apart from gatherings, he plans to conduct most of the training based at home in Asker.

Now, his partner must therefore prepare to entertain herself for the foreseeable future.

“I try to send my girlfriend out with her friends as much as possible, so that she is occupied, and then I can just train, eat, and sleep,” says Amundsen.

Read More: Østberg Amundsen: “I’m living the life I’ve dreamed of”

The story continues below.

World training
Harald Østberg Amundsen and his girlfriend Hedda after one of the stage wins in the Tour de Ski last winter. Photo: Mathias Bergeld/Bildbyrån

Not the most hours

Amundsen suggests that he trains between 860 to 900 hours a year in physical training. It’s a training volume that few raise their eyebrows at.

“There are many who train more than me, and I think there are few competitive skiers in Norway who train too little. We have a tough and good training culture… But that. I try to see how I can increase the quality of the training I put in, and train better than those I compete against. That’s part of the key for me,” says Amundsen to Langrenn.com, and continues:

“I am constantly looking for sessions that are more developing, and I have dared to challenge myself, without throwing away the entire setup that has worked before. Finding the balance between gradually increasing the volume, listening to the body, and resting when I feel I need to have been something I have been good at.”

Enjoying life

To be able to maintain focus throughout the season, Amundsen depends on getting some “free minutes” where he can also mentally recover.

“I try to be very social in the spring. I say yes to almost everything and try to meet all my friends again. It gives me a lot of energy. This period is when you really take advantage of being social. It’s almost oversocial now, and then it becomes less towards the autumn, says Amundsen to TV2, adding that this phase is over for now.”

“No, there will be no more partying now. Now it’s full focus.”

Show sharing buttons

Subscribe to our newsletter

Most read

More Articles

  • Sprint Lenzerheide

    Biathlon World Championships Guide: 7.5km Sprint for women in Lenzerheide

    The Biathlon World Championships continues today in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, with the 7.5km sprint for women. Discover how the race works and who the top contenders for gold are!
    by Kjell-Erik Kristiansen
    14.02.2025
  • Biathlon World Championships: Program, start list and start time for the 7.5km Sprint in Lenzerheide

    by Leandro Lutz
    14.02.2025
  • Falun World Cup: Results from the men’s sprint qualifier

    by Leandro Lutz
    14.02.2025
  • Falun World Cup: Results from the women’s sprint qualifier

    by Leandro Lutz
    14.02.2025
  • Cross-country World Cup: Program, start lists and start times for the Sprint in Falun

    by Leandro Lutz
    14.02.2025