Øystein “The Sausage” Pettersen has chosen Ola Vigen Hattestad as the favorite prior to the sprints in Düsseldorf tomorrow.
With a second place to show from last year’s sprint opener, Øystein Pettersen traveled with the rest of the Norwegian sprint national team to Düsseldorf yesterday. He has named Ola Vigen Hattestad as his pick for the win.
â€I believe in Ola. He has impressed me in the last period. I would tentatively choose him as the favorite for this Saturday,†Pettersen told langrenn.com.â€
Apart from Vigen Hattestad, Pettersen thinks the toughest competition will be from the other Norwegian competitors:
“Sweden has undoubtedly improved, but I think that the Norwegians will be the strongest. In addition, a number of new names have the chance take over the top spot on the result list.â€
Meanwhile, he is sure that the Norwegians have prepared optimally with their preseason training.
“I almost feel bad for those racers who might have trained more than us. But rest assured that we have suffered in some of our workouts,†he explains.
Personally Petterson thinks he is in good form. After the altitude camp in Livigno and Val Senales there has been plenty of opportunities for “the Sausage’s†favorite type of workout — hard intensity.
“These past days have been unbelievably easy. And I’m hoping for an even bigger boost this weekend. Before Saturday’s race I plan to follow the same plan as last year, which consisted of a tough roller ski workout,†explains the national team racer.
The course profile suits Pettersen and the conditions will also suit the racer who had to run naked through the streets of Düsseldorf after losing a bet last year (ed.- Last year he made a bet with Tor Arne Hetland that if he was on the podium, he would have to strip naked and run to the nearest store, where he would purchase new clothes with the prize money)
â€The snow is almost like ice and last year it was very hard, something that suits me well. I use a lot power,†Pettersen concludes.
The rest of the sprinters are coming directly from an altitude period arrived in Düsseldorf today. The last hard workout prior to the world cup opener was performed behind closed doors in the Torsby ski tunnel on Wednesday.
Source: Langrenn.com
