Norwegian national team member Vibeke Skofterud (24) has not raced for more than a month. She is currently hunting for a World’s-peak at altitude in Italy.
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Skofterud has been in Pragelato, Italy at 1700-meters altitude since Tuesday last week.</p>
<p>Â – I have been able to ski easy, nice workouts. The conditions have been great. It’s almost like being on an Easter vacation with sunshine and warm temperatures, says Vibeke Skofterud.</p>
<p>Â She has not been sick as the rumors had claimed.</p>
<p>Â – You can feel bad even if you are not sick, says Vibeke with a smile.</p>
<p>Â The 24-year old is convinced that she made the right decision when she choose to skip both the recent Otepaa and Nove Mesto World Cup races.</p>
<p>Â – I made a plan with our coach Svein Tore Samdal regarding what was smart to do in the weeks toward Worlds, and I believe what we have done has worked very well, says Vibeke.</p>
<p>Â She has not been on the starting line in any race for more than a month and is very curious ahead of this weekend’s World Cup in Pragelato.</p>
<p>Â – It should be an exciting weekend. I feel that I’m in good shape and I’m looking forward to racing again. It’s a long time since I raced. A month without races is borderline. I did three hard workouts last week and also did a hard training block before I left for altitude, says Skofterud.</p>
<p>Â She had planned to skip one race at the upcoming Norwegian Nationals in order to save up for Worlds, but those plans are now changed.</p>
<p>– I will most likely ski all the races in order to get back into racing. The Norwegian championship is therefore very important for me and I’m really looking forward to it. I was sick last year and didn’t get a chance to race at Nationals. The atmosphere is always good there, says the 24-year old.</p>
<p>She has no specific result goal for this weekend’s races.</p>
<p>– I have to be realistic regarding what has happened the last month. I just hope that I can manage to get my body to function the way I know it can. It’s important to get in good races before Worlds. I know that I have put in some good work lately. It would be great if I raced well this weekend. It’s easy to get doubts if I’m not skiing fast, says Vibeke Skofterud.<BR><center><img decoding=)
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Norwegian national team member Vibeke Skofterud (24) has not raced for more than a month. She is currently hunting for a World’s-peak at altitude in Italy.