When the men’s national teams travel to Muonio in Finland to run their last training camp before the season opener at Beitostølen, it will be without two of the biggest profiles: neither Johannes Høsflot Klæbo nor Harald Østberg Amundsen will be there. 

Østberg Amundsen has contracted Covid

Harald Østberg Amundsen has recently been diagnosed with Covid and will not join the national team training camp in Muonio, Finland. 

“I don’t have a fever, just a bit of a headache, and my body aches. I hope I’ll be back on my feet quickly,” Harald told TV2 on Sunday. 

Then Østberg Amundsen still hoped to make it to the camp in Muonio next week. 

“Harald is doing well, but he will not come to Finland,” confirms head coach for the distance national team Eirik Myhr Nossum, to Langrenn.com.

However, he expects Østberg Amundsen to be back in training before the national season opener at Beitostølen on the weekend of November 18 to 20. 

“Yes, I think that is possible,” says Nossum.

Østberg Amundsen is one of the four elite national team athletes in danger of not being selected for the World Cup opening in Finland the week after Beitostølen. The 24-year-old, therefore, must deliver a good performance to secure a place in Ruka’s squad. 

Also read: These Four Norwegian Skiers Risk Missing The World Cup Premiere 

Injured Klæbo

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is still struggling with the hamstring injury he suffered in July and has had to modify his training throughout the autumn. Recently, the 25-year-old hinted that he could miss the start of the season. 

But Klæbo had initially not planned to participate in any national team training camps this autumn. 

Klæbo follows its training plan, which includes three extensive stays at altitude during the autumn, as the national team did not plan for any altitude camp this year. Being given the freedom to run his private altitude camps was one of three decisive elements in the negotiations between Klæbo and the Ski Association in May. 

Joint Training Camp in Finland

The two elite national teams travel to Muonio in Finland from November 4 to 9 to run their last camp before the season premiere at Beitostølen. 

Initially, it was planned that only the national sprint team would travel to Muonio. The distance national team had planned to have its last camp at Sjusjøen, but there is no snow there at the moment, so they decided to move the training camp to Muonio.

The northern Finnish destination is known for good skiing conditions early in the season, and this year does not disappoint either. 

“From the pictures we have received, it looks absolutely beautiful there,” says Nossum.