The 26-year-old realizes that the season opener at Beitostølen is coming up and that she will have to watch the first ski races from the sidelines this year.

The Norwegian national team skier will miss the season opener at Beitostølen. It’s clear now, two weeks before the important race weekend. 

“It’s sad,” says Julie Myhre. 

The shoulder injury she suffered in Granåsen in August is why Myhre will miss the national season opener at Beitostølen. 

During the penultimate race at Toppidrettsveka in Granåsen, Myhre fell on a downhill on the penultimate lap of the demanding course. The crash resulted in a dislocated shoulder, abrasions, and bruises. The shoulder injury has proved to be persistent, and the 26-year-old now realizes that the season opener is just around the corner. 

Although Myhre can now train relatively normally, with training sessions on both roller skis and skis, she is not taking any chances. 

“I’m not ready yet. It’s too early. We’ve been clear all along that it’s the shoulder that decides. I trust the team and the professionals I spar with, and they think this is the best thing,” Myhre tells Adresseavisen.

Myhre will still travel to Beitostølen with the remaining national team but will have to watch the ski races from the sidelines. 

Aiming for Trondheim

For Myhre, the World Cup round in Trondheim, the last weekend before Christmas, is the big highlight of the first part of the season. The program includes sprint, distance, and skiathlon, and the race weekend also serves as a test World Cup for the 2025 World Championships. 

Myhre, therefore, hopes to be ready for the opening of the Norwegian Cup in Gålå on the last weekend in November, which runs parallel to the World Cup opening in Ruka, Finland. The ambition is to use the races at Gålå to break into the national team squad for further World Cup rounds before Christmas. 

“It would be cool if I could race on home soil. I really want to do that. At the same time, I realize I must go ski racing before that,” says Myhre.

Laying the foundation for the 2025 World Championships

This winter, there are neither the World Championships nor the Olympics, which means that the Tour de Ski and the overall World Cup are the main focus for most people. This is also the case for Myhre.

The Norwegian skier sees the championship-free season as an excellent opportunity to gain more experience and further develop her strengths ahead of the 2025 World Championships on home turf in Granåsen. 

“My goal for the winter is to be with the sprint team as much as possible at the World Cup and gain more experience. But I’m also working on improving my distance skills. I want to assert myself more there, too,” Myhre told Langrenn.com earlier this fall.

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