Norwegian Women Are Setting VO2 Max Records

FasterSkier · October 18, 2004

Many skiers on the Norwegian women’s national cross country team have set personal MaxV02 records lately according to the newspaper VG.

It’s women’s National team coach Svein Tore Samdal that has revealed this in an interview during the team’s on-snow altitude camp in Val Senales, Italy

– Almost everyone has performed â€œall-time highâ€ on the oxygen uptake tests. It’s nice to see that the skiers are in shape. This is also a natural progression. We have a young team and they have become one year older and one year better, said Samdal.

Marit Bjorgen was quoted in a different VG article earlier this week saying that her last O2 test was 71 ml/kg, while it had been 66 ml/kg earlier this summer. She was also talking about doing sets in squats with 110-kilo, while her PR is 170-kilo.

Kristin Stormer Steira and Ingrid Narum are both sick with colds, and had returned to Norway.

Vibeke Skofterud and Hilde Gjermundshaug are looking good while Marit Bjorgen is â€œalmost thereâ€

We should be fine for the World Cup opener in Dusseldorf [this weekend], said Samdal.

– Narum is sick now, but we hope that she’ll ski in Dusseldorf.

Bjorgen made her break-through when she won in Dusseldorf two years ago. She placed fifth there last year.

– We have done lots of volume training lately at this camp until now, but are gradually doing more quality as the skiers are getting acclimatized. We are not doing anything in particular in order to peak for Dusseldorf, said Samdal.