Meet the World Cup’s athlete partying inside and outside the World Cup and why she prioritizes partying.

Sophia Laukli is making headlines with rock-solid results both in the World Cup in cross-country skiing and in international ultra- and mountain races: The 23-year-old from the USA left her competitors behind in the monster hill, the brutal final stage of Tour de Ski. She has been on the podium and among the top 10 in the World Cup several times, and this summer, she took the overall victory in the international Golden Trail Series with a series of the world’s most prestigious mountain races.

Laukli is half-Norwegian. Her father comes from the Konnerud area. Last fall, she moved to Oslo to train with the Norwegian team, Team Aker Dæhlie.

But the American-Norwegian has become just as well known for her unorthodox approach to competitions at the highest international level.

Langrenn.com had a chat with Sophia Laukli, who shared openly about life inside and outside the World Cup.

It’s rumored that you don’t skimp on partying and fun on the weekends from April to October. Is that true? 

“Yes. I won’t deny it. I party and have fun all summer,” Laukli confirms to Langrenn.com.

“The thing about partying and drinking came up in a podcast I was on last fall. I was a bit taken back there. My point in talking about it was just to show that it’s possible to compete at a top level and still party and have fun in other arenas, too. I like being social and going out, and it’s important to me to have balance in my life.”

It’s pretty unusual among World Cup athletes. How has it been received? 

“Yeahhhh. You could say that. After I talked about it in the podcast, many have asked me if I don’t think I could ski or run faster if I didn’t party. My answer to that is no. Because if I didn’t party and do other things I enjoy, then I wouldn’t be competing,” says Laukli, elaborating:

“I compete 11 out of 12 months a year. It’s mentally demanding. It’s important for me to have fun in life, and partying a bit on the weekends gives me an arena where I can lower my shoulders and forget about competitions and achievements. I know that partying doesn’t provide any physiological benefits, but life is more than just training.”

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Thinking of the Olympics in Two Arenas 

Regarding the double focus on both cross-country skiing and running, Laukli envisions continuing with it for the foreseeable future.

“Having two sports to focus on, one in the summer and one in the winter, makes me more excited about both. So, I will continue with that, at least through the next Olympics.

Laukli is also open to increasing her focus on running.

“When I quit cross-country skiing, I will probably continue more with running, maybe even switch to marathons and track running. It would be cool to be in the Olympics in that. I’m not at that level right now, but it’s definitely in the back of my mind,” she tells Langrenn.com.

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What are your goals for your cross-country skiing efforts? 

“Overall, it’s to stabilize myself among the podium candidates in the World Cup. But the main goal for this season was to do well in the last stage of the Tour de Ski, and I succeeded there. I’m very satisfied with how I handled that race. I’m usually not someone who is good at skiing tactically, but I managed it here and got full recognition for it. So that was very satisfying.”

You’ve excelled in that stage before. What makes you so good at the Final Climb? 

“It’s a completely different kind of ski race than anything else we do. That stage is actually very similar to the mountain races I do. It’s about finding a pace and a rhythm and then just going all out. You don’t have to think about anything. It’s very simple.”

Also Read: US team for the Oberhof and Goms World Cups 

See highlights from Laukli’s monstrous race at the Final Climb – The article continues below.

Running Long, But Not Becoming a Long-Distance Skier  

Despite gradually gaining solid experience with long races, Laukli does not envision a career as a long-distance skier.

More World Cup skiers are also increasingly choosing to focus on long-distance races and Ski Classics, especially towards the end of the season. Have you considered joining that trend? 

“No. I don’t think long-distance races will suit me very well. I really enjoy the World Cup with regular all-around cross-country skiing. Such long distances as those in the Ski Classics pose completely different demands on strength and are extremely challenging mentally.”

In what way then? You do ultra-running and extremely long mountain races 

“Well, but I feel that running is something completely different. I’m good at ultra-running and mountain races because it’s a crazy long endurance test, and that’s something I’m good at,” says Laukli, explaining further:

“Just running really hard for four hours alone in the mountains is not in itself particularly fun, but it’s cool there and then anyway. But it’s something completely different than what I do when I compete in skiing, and that’s why I want to focus on that type of ultra-running in the summer. Doing the same on skis would be something completely different.”