Orsa2Levi continues tomorrow with a special guest, Petter Eliassen, who retired from active skiing after last season.
He achieved many great awards and trophies in Visma Ski Classics such as two Champion titles, two Vasaloppet victories, two Birkebeinerrennet wins, Marcialonga victory and 13 stage wins.
Earlier this fall, he announced that he will return to action at Marcialonga wearing Team Robinson Trentino’s racing suit. His comeback is not a serious one, but he wants to do well in the famous Italian race and enjoy skiing again. On the podcast episode, he openly talks about his career, his current job as a physiotherapist at a rehab center in Alta, his wonderful family and life, and he also gazes upon his future perspectives.
“Bruno Debertolis asked me to join his team after last season, but I wasn’t ready to think about it at that time. I told him to contact me later, and I kept training a little bit over the summer, mostly roller-skiing to work and back. So, he called me again this fall, and I felt that it would be fun to return to racing. It gives a goal and motivates me to train. If the race goes well, I can do a couple more because I love skiing,” Petter says on the podcast.
Petter quit skiing for the first time in 2017 after winning Ylläs-Levi. The retirement back then did not come that easily for Petter. It took him some time to accept the fact that his racing days seemed to be over.
“The first time I quit, I remember being totally unmotivated to train in the summer. I was looking at my roller-skis, and it felt weird that I didn’t go out for training. So, I had some reaction to my quitting, but in the winter, I skied a bit and did some races. That raised my motivation again. My work situation was also quite difficult as I had to commute a long way, which was not ideal for my family. I started to call around to find a new job closer to home, but without success. Then, I was asked to come back to Visma Ski Classics, and the choice was easy, and I accepted the offer.”
On the podcast, Petter recalls his first seasons in Visma Ski Classics and the success that he was able to gain right away and how everything suddenly became much harder after the great start in the Pro Tour. He won the Champion title in 2015 and 2016, but the following seasons were not exactly a walk in the park for him.
“I realized that it was not easy to re-produce the success that I had gained in the past. It was great to be that successful in the first two years, but it also became quite demanding to maintain that high performance level all the time. I sometimes felt that it was too much for me to handle. It’s difficult to be in the same zone, and I was struggling a bit with my training, sickness and everything else. I was eager to be on top, but it just became quite challenging.”
Petter is a devoted father, and his four children are his pride and joy. His wife is an English teacher who has supported him all these years.
“My wife comes up with good advice, but I’m not always following her guidance. I’m trying to be a family man, but of course there are some challenges along the way. I have warned my kids about being professional skiers and the sacrifices one must make in order to succeed. But if they want to become skiers, I fully support them. I want them to do skiing for the rest of their lives, but it’s not important for them to become professional skiers. It’s a tough decision that they have to make on their own.”
On tomorrow’s podcast episode, Petter also talks about his training and the mistakes he made that prevented him to claim more Champion titles. He also reveals what skiing has given him and what he still wants to achieve in life. Orsa2Levi is available on all possible podcast platforms and on the Visma Ski Classics website.
