The Chinese cross-country skier Qiang Wang had a breakthrough performance at Drammen World Cup. He had the support of several Norwegians.

Over the past month, Chinese Qiang Wang made a breakthrough in the sprint world. Due to the corona pandemic, he had missed the international opposition since December 2019. Still, he was back to the international starting line at the 2022 Winter Olympics, with a fifth place in the prologue. Then, unfortunately, did not qualify but showed great strength and speed.

After the Olympics, he was still impressive. He finished second in a sprint show in Helsinki on Thursday before the World Cup in Lahti, only beaten by Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. In Lahti, he reached the final, finishing sixth place, and in Drammen, five days later, he finished second. 

Suddenly we have a Chinese athlete with top world performance in the sprint. Behind the scenes are several Norwegians who helped the cross-country skier achieve his impressive results. One of them is Bernhard Rønning.

“I’m a bit of an all-rounder. I organize, wax some skis, and I am a coach,” Rønning tells Langrenn.com. He is on his way to the World Cup final in Falun, where there is a classic sprint on the program on Friday. There, Qiang Wang will be one of the favorites.

It all started in May 2018 when Rønning signed for the Chinese national team.

“I started by hiring Anders Högberg (now national team coach in Sweden) and Ole Marius Bach. The first year we had a base in Granåsen. Then we moved to Meråker in 2019 before the corona pandemic came. After that, the skiers have been in China. Ole Marius and I have been in China since September.”

Olympic champion Nikita Kriukov is also on the Chinese coaching staff. He is the one who has had the daily follow-up of Qiang Wang for the past six months. Rønning believes that the main reason for Qiang Wang’s progress is better endurance.

“He has taken great strides on endurance. He was very fast before too, but the difference now is that he can keep four laps.”

What is it like to be a coach in the Chinese system?

“The progress of Qiang Wang is more because of him than the system. There are a lot of messages coming from the top that we do not always agree with. Qiang Wang is a smart skier and does not let it affect training. Other skiers do not handle the system as well.”

Do you get to do what you want in training?

“We have done a lot of what we want, but then something does not go quite as planned. It’s about not letting yourself be influenced so much by what is around, and here, as I said, Qiang Wang is outstanding.”

After the Norwegian coaches came to China in September, they have trained with a goal in mind but have not only trained on the Olympic tracks.

“We have not been so much in the Olympic facility. We were there a period before Christmas. Mostly we have been to a facility a little further north and also in Xinjiang (northeast of China).”

How have the training conditions been?

“We have skied 3.75 kilometers with artificial snow in quite tough tracks,” Rønning says.

The Chinese also have Norwegian help on the waxing side. Terje Langli has contributed to the waxing team. In addition, three Russians and two Finns have participated.

After the season, their contracts with the Chinese expire, and it is not sure that they will continue beyond this season.

Do you want to continue?

“I see a little dark living in China half a year,” Rønning concludes.

Tomorrow we have part 2 in this series, and then we talk to Ole Marius Bach, who, among other things, can tell more details about Qiang Wang’s training.