By André Santos
Last week, you had a chance to read about Petter Eliassen’s thoughts on two classic races Vasaloppet and Birkebeinerrennet. Now it’s time to get to know the man up close and personal as he is a true legend in our sport.
We have all watched him reaching the top positions in almost every event of the Pro Tour and over the season, Petter has given us the privilege of witnessing some of the best double poling moments. For me, the best moment in cross country skiing was when I was watching him double pole his way to victory in Birkebeinerrennet 2015. Now that Petter has won Vasaloppet once more, I had the pleasure of talking to him about training, and most importantly, about life - as a pro athlete and as a human being like the rest of us, with jobs and family.
You are one of the most successful skiers in long distance skiing. However, after the 2016/2017 season, you retired as a pro athlete and stayed away for a year. How did you feel back then and what was the impact on your body and mind?
“When I retired and stopped training so much, my body soon adapted to that. But my mind struggled to find a new motivation for competitions at a lower level. I wanted to do more stuff with my kids, and some days I could really enjoy my new life, but other days I was missing it (Visma Ski Classics) badly. The weekends were more relaxing, but that was maybe because I didn't have any goal to train towards.”
Fortunately, you decided to come back with Team BN Bank for the 2018/2019 season. After a year off, how was the return to serious training?
“In may 2018, I decided to come back as a pro skier, but not before the end of August because I had to finish my practice as a physiotherapist. Therefore I needed to slowly rebuild my shape and adapt to double poling and training at a higher volume. I had to start easy with shorter workouts, often back and forth to work on roller-skis, 40 minutes each way. I did that for 3 months and could feel that the shape was getting better and better.”
Can you describe your comeback training to us?
“I did mostly low intensity workouts at the beginning, and no strength training. That was a mistake. I think I should have done some of that, and maybe some more intervals or local competitions. I wanted to do shorter workouts more often and then, when I had more time, I did longer workouts. From September onwards, I could train just as before, but I still decided to do mostly aerobic training and some specific workouts to get my engine back on track again.”
Long distance skiing is a tough sport and double poling for long hours everyday can be mentally demanding, even for an elite athlete like you. Have you ever had problems in finding motivation to train and compete? Do you use any kind of mental training?
“I have had some motivation problems over the years, often when I have struggled with my results, illness or felt that the work I put in didn't pay off. I have used mental training and mental coaches for shorter periods, maybe not with the best results. But the most important thing I have done is reading a lot and discussing with my teammates and coaches, like I guess every athlete has done. I try to learn from my mistakes, but it is not always that easy!”
You have been able to get a lot of victories, but there is a special moment for me. Personally, I think the most inspiring moment in the history of cross country skiing was when you double poled to victory at Birkebeinerrennet in 2015, in front of Martin J. Sundby. Can you share some advice for ambitious amateur athletes who want to be competitive at double poling?
“I think they should train specifically (double poling) maybe at least 50% of their total training time. But not only double poling. And they should try to do variations in their double poling workouts, like hard/easy, long/short, flat/uphill. But also train with the kick wax every now and then, also in competitions. When double poling, you need to feel and find out about your limits that are affecting your performance, and try to do something about it. There are so many things that you can work on when trying to improve, but it's not always easy to get the effect you want from your training. Then you maybe have to change the direction or try something new every now and then.”
Speaking of Birkebeinerennet, Martin J. Sundby and Hans C. Holund will be racing this year, and Sundby has said that he wants to break your record from 2015. What are your expectations for this year's race?
“I am expecting a hard race with two very good skiers that seem eager to perform well, they are not just showing up. I am excited about the chance to fight against them, but I am not sure I will beat them.”
Finally, what do you think about the future of long distance skiing? Do you believe that non-Nordic athletes can become as strong as the Norwegian and Swedish athletes, or will the future of our sport still be dominated by them?
“I hope that the sport will develop and that the skiing community will stay together as one happy family, trying to improve the product both for amateurs and professionals. And maybe with a bit more environmental focus. But I know it is more difficult for non-Nordic athletes to put together a good team with all the bells and whistles due to economic reasons. I hope there can be better possibilities for Non-Nordic skiers to go all the way in long distance skiing and not just focus on regular World Cup skiing. And I hope that the sport will remain wherever there is snow!”
