Thomas Alsgaard was recently hired as new technique coach for the Norwegian team. His job is first of all to advice members of the men’s team regarding technique.
– This will be exciting. We know Thomas well and he is recourse with a definite strength for the technical aspects of racing. He has a good feel for technique and should be able to ski behind us and give us pointers, says National team member Frode Estil.
Estil was a teammate of Thomas for many years and knows how Thomas is skiing and what he stands for. Estil is these days along with Alsgaard waiting to receive the Gold medal for the victory in the pursuit race at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. As our readers might remember – they tied for Silver. Muehlegg was later disqualified for doping and their medals upgrade to Gold. One Gold medal winner will now become the teacher while the other one a student. Estil admits that this is a bit strange.
– It’s good that a year has passed since Thomas retired. We needed a little distance to being each other teammates. It was the same with Krister Sorgard. He was my teammate as well. Now he is the coach. It has worked well.
Estil has heard that the Norwegian Biathlon team skiers have been very happy with the advice they have received from Thomas during the past season. Estil admits that there are many “classic specialists” on the current Norwegian team and believes that Thomas can help this group improve especially in skating.
– It’s very positive that Thomas is willing to help out. It will be different than having him as a team member. Every active skier had to focus on himself or herself and is not able to others much, says Estil
Estil is still trying to become a better skater and wants to continue the progress from this past season where he placed 8th in two World Cup skate races.
– I’m not giving up in my attempt to become as good in skating as in classic, says Estil
A former teammate is now going to help him succeed.
