Although John Northug believes that Petter delivered his best performances many years ago, he considers his son a threat to the established Pro Tour athletes in the winter.

“I am excited when he starts because I have always experienced him as unpredictable. He also has a competitive mind beyond anything, so if he joins (the main field) and gets to see the finish line once, I think he can be dangerous. We’ll see if he manages it, and I’m excited about that,” says John Northug to Dagbladet Trondheim. 

Petter Northug ended his active career at the World Cup level in December 2018, after 13 World Championships golds, two Olympic golds, and countless World Cup victories. Last year he decided to make a comeback at the elite level, this time in long-distance skiing. 

But Northug is one of the athletes who belong to the red group in the International Ski Federation (FIS), and is therefore obliged to report for doping control in and out of competitions. This meant he had a six-month quarantine before competing in the elite class, so he did not manage to be allowed to last year’s season. 

Northug has now received the green light from FIS and is seriously investing in Ski Classics, this year with his own Pro Team. 

So far, Petter Northug has been far from the podium in the races he started in the rollerski season this year. 

After the 22nd place at Alliansloppet in August, Northug indicated that he is putting in around 200 training hours until the start of the season at the beginning of December. 

“I noticed this summer that I can’t take as much training as before. I have to train smart, but the way I’ve been competing and training now mean I can handle 70-80 hours every month. If I can do that, I can have a decent level this winter, and the plan is to raise the level another notch for next winter,” says Northug.

 But even if the podium places are still lacking, the experienced skier has already sent more than one alert to the established Pro Tour athletes. 

At Kanalrennet during TelemarksVeka in June, which was also the opening round of the Roller Ski World Cup 2022, Northug was number 12, just seconds behind the winner Johannes Høsflot Klæbo.  

He secured one of the sprint prizes during the Blink Classics at the beginning of August. In the 90km long Klarälvsloppet in September, he fought for all the sprint prizes and hung on to the lead almost all the way to the finish line. 

The Ski Classic Pro Tour Season XIV consists of 14 races. The first two events will be held on December 10 and 11.