By Johan Trygg
It is May 1st and the first day of the new training year for many skiers. However, not for Tore Bjørseth Berdal. The Team Koteng athlete who won Vasaloppet 2019 and Marcialonga 2020 puts the skis on the shelf.
“It feels both good and sad at the same time to quit. But I will remain as Team Manager for the team this winter,” says the 32-year-old.
Tore was picked up by Team United Bakeries as a young skier and without merits from long-distance skiing, but he showed he was an athlete to watch out for in 2014 with three top ten placements: La Diagonela (7th), Maricalonga (6th) and König Ludvig Lauf (8th).
The first podium place came in 2015 when he finished second at König Ludvig Lauf. The first victory did not come until 2019 but it was a great one when he went solo to victory in Vasaloppet and last winter came the second triumph when he won Marcialonga.
After the sudden end of season X, Tore was in the choice to continue his career or not.
“When I got an offer from the team's main sponsor Koteng, I snapped at it. I will be the project manager in a technology project within the company,” says Tore, who next to his skiing career got an education as a civil engineer in industrial economics.
But Tore, who has been both athlete and Team Manager for Team Koteng, will continue with the role of Pro Team Manager also this coming winter.
“I will have a finger in the game and want to continue to help the athletes develop,” says Tore.
On the women's side, they will have an even sharper team this winter with Emilie Fleten from Team Ragde Eiendom, which will be a great complement to Astrid Øyre Slind and Kari Vikhagen Gjeitnes.
“Yes, we will be really strong and hard to beat on the women's side,” Tore states.
In his own career, of course, the victories at Vasaloppet and Marcialonga stand out.
“It's nice memories but what gave me the most motivation was what happened in 2018. When I finished second at Marcialonga and when I was picked up two kilometers before the finish in Vasaloppet. Then I decided that must never happen again and it was the best motivation for doing the job that was required.”
Berdal also wants to highlight how happy he is that John Kristian Dahl, Johan Kjølstad, and Chris Jespersen took him into the team.
“I was young and not particularly good as a skier then. It has been tremendously educational to train and be with them. I really appreciate that,” Tore concludes.
