Criticism of Petter Northug and the race organizers of Janteloppet has been pouring in after the prize money scandal this past weekend. Now, the billionaire title sponsor has gone on the offensive against the cross-country skiing expert who criticized the race—and receives a biting response in return.

Outrageous, discriminatory, historically ignorant, and downright dismal: the cross-country skiing community is reacting with disgust after the prize money scandal at Janteloppet this weekend.

While the men competed for a prize pool of half a million kroner in Saturday’s Janteloppet, the prize money for the women’s class was scrapped. At the last minute, organizers agreed to offer 60,000 kroner for the women.

Now, Reda el Chaar, the billionaire who sponsors Northug and is the main sponsor of Janteloppet, has stepped in and expressed full support for the organizers’ decision to drop the women’s elite race and eliminate their prize money. He does not consider it discrimination against women—just a business decision.

At the same time, the wealthy Lebanese businessman launched a blistering attack on cross-country skiing expert Petter Skinstad for criticizing the event.

“I have zero respect for him,” El Chaar told VG.

According to race organizers, the decision was made due to too few entries in the women’s elite class and a low level of competition among those who had registered. The decision was made a week and a half before the event, even though registration remained open until race day. Among those already registered in good time were Heidi Weng, Ebba Andersson, Astrid Øyre Slind, Nadja Kählin, and Katerina Janatova.

Attacking the Critics

While the ski community expresses outrage, Northug’s sponsor and the face behind his signature event fully supports the decision and stands firmly behind the race organizers.

“I have zero respect for Petter Skinstad. He’s an outdated athlete who uses Janteloppet—and any platform he can find—to inflate his personal brand by clinging to controversies he thinks will keep him relevant,” El Chaar told VG.

“His comments aren’t about improving the sport—they’re about keeping his own name in the headlines,” he added.

Skinstad Fires Back

The cross-country skiing expert is unfazed by El Chaar’s attack.

“I don’t care what he thinks of me. He’s free to believe whatever he wants. I’m just doing my job,” Skinstad told Langrenn.com, continuing:

“What I do find outdated is treating female skiers in this way. And I have just as little respect for the decision to cut prize money for the women as the owner of Janteloppet apparently has for me.”

Skinstad also fired a barbed response at El Chaar.

“I had a fantastic time in Lebanon a few years ago, met loads of lovely people, and really grew fond of the country. There’s much we can learn from Lebanon in many areas. But here, I’d encourage El Chaar to familiarize himself more with the values that guide Norwegian sports.”

Widespread Criticism

Skinstad is far from the only voice in the skiing world expressing outrage after the Janteloppet prize money scandal.

“This isn’t even close to what they promised—they’re blaming participation. We’re being pissed on,” said an outraged Astrid Øyre Slind to TV 2 on Saturday morning in Hafjell.

She burned her race bib in protest.

Ebba Andersson said she felt deceived, cheated, and deprioritized. She strongly criticized the process and the communication from the organizers.

“How can you go from the kind of promotion they did, hyping up the prize money, to telling us we were just racing the recreational class without any prize money?” Andersson said to VG.

In addition to the athletes, head coach of Team Aker Dæhlie, Jostein Vinjerui, also came out strongly against the organizers. He expressed disappointment and frustration.

“I thought we’d come further than this. I didn’t think this was a discussion we needed to have in 2025. These are experienced people running the event, and it’s a shame they didn’t choose to take a different stance,” Vinjerui told Langrenn.com.

He’s backed by athletes from Norway and abroad, including some at World Cup level who didn’t participate in the race.

“People are just like, ‘What? Is that even possible?’ This doesn’t reflect well on the event, and that’s a shame—because the concept itself was a breath of fresh air for the sport,” Vinjerui added.

Meant to Set a New Standard

Janteloppet is Petter Northug’s signature event. He helped launch the race in 2018, originally with Red Bull as the title sponsor. When the controversial Austrian energy drink giant pulled out in 2023, Northug took full ownership of the event.

He then relaunched it with a bold new concept—more spectacular and more inclusive than any other ski race. In 2024, the race served as the Ski Classics Grand Finale. This year, Northug withdrew the event from the prestigious long-distance series. Together with his new ultra-wealthy backer Reda el Chaar, he relaunched Janteloppet again—this time luring racers with a prize pool of one million kroner.

Ten Million in Prize Money

According to Northug and El Chaar, cross-country skiing won’t become a truly international sport until athletes can make a real living from it. Only then can they focus 100% on becoming the best, without needing to take part-time jobs or pursue studies to fund their careers.

That’s why the duo is pushing for a major upgrade in prize money compared to current standards.

Their long-term goal is to establish a new race series consisting of three to four events over the span of a month, spread across various destinations in Norway and Central Europe. The total prize pool across the series would amount to 10 million kroner.

Last fall, Northug joined the German long-distance race König Ludwiglauf. El Chaar hopes they can launch a Grand Prizerace as early as 2026.

Read more: “It’s completely unacceptable” – Ebba Andersson on Janteloppet