Marit Bjorgen says she’ll be happy with a top seven in the seasonopener at Beitostolen on Saturday, reports Norwegian newspaper VG
Complete article: http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=296896
The Norwegian women’s team was on snow for the first time in three and a half week on Wednesday this week. Marit Bjorgen was one of the many happy skiers on the team.
– This went well. We had good conditions for the first 45 minutes, but then the wind picked up. It was still good to be on snow, said Bjorgen with a smile after the workout.
She is despite having trained well on dryland the last period admitting that not being on snow (as in the past years) hasn’t been the ideal preparations for Saturday’s 10-kilometer at Beitostolen
Modest
– It has worked fine. It might not be ideal for this weekend, but its no long term problem for the Olympics in February.
What are you expecting from this weekend with this preparation?
– No… (long pause)- I don’t know. I’m happy with a top seven.
You are not aiming higher than that?
– No, but you never know. This is the first long race, so it’s hard to say, says Bjorgen
She is trying not to build, the expectations up too high, but she admitted that she was feeling good today.
– It went well today and I felt good, but you never know what the competition has been doing, says a humble Marit Bjorgen
Would be surprised
The coach, Svein Tore Samdal agrees with Bjorgen that it’s no reason to promise triumphs already now. He still expects that the Norwegian women will do well.
— I would be surprised if Bjorgen wins the first race, says Samdal
