Tour de Ski: Iversen and Stenshagen don’t get the Olympic answer they demand — NRK expert reacts strongly

Mattis Stenshagen: “I’ve shown good form here and improved every day — I almost expect an Olympic answer now.”

After a Tour de Ski in which he rates his own performances highly, Mattis Stenshagen says he expects a confirmation that he will be on Norway’s Olympic team as soon as possible — ideally on the Monday after the Tour. Stenshagen wants clarity so he can begin an optimal preparation rather than continuing to peak toward NM and risk poor timing for the Olympics.

Norway can nominate eight male cross-country skiers to the Games and five were given early confirmation before Christmas: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Harald Østberg Amundsen, Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, Erik Valnes and Einar Hedegart. Several others — including Stenshagen and Emil Iversen — have meanwhile shown podium form at Olympic distances in the World Cup, but will not automatically get a place.

Both Stenshagen and veteran Emil Iversen believe the qualification should be finalised now, after Tour de Ski. The team management takes a different view. Head coach Eirik Myhr Nossum told NRK that the coaching staff have been clear all season about qualification periods and that, in their view, the selection window extends through NM on Steinkjer (14–18 January) in special cases.

Status of Olympic selection (as presented in the article): five men named before Christmas (Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, Harald Østberg Amundsen, Erik Valnes, Einar Hedegart). Five other Norwegians have reached World Cup podiums at Olympic distances — Stenshagen, Emil Iversen, Andreas Fjorden Ree, Oskar Opstad Vike and Ansgar Evensen — meaning at least two of them will miss out given the quota.

Selection rules referenced by the federation rank criteria in order: 1) relevant World Cup results in 2025/26, 2) results in 2024/25, and 3) previous championship performances. The federation’s published plan indicated an initial selection after clarification from the Olympic liaison (OLT), a second selection after Davos, and a third selection after Tour de Ski. A final supplement can — “in special cases” — be made after NM.

NRK’s cross‑country expert Fredrik Aukland sharply criticised suggestions from the team that they will wait until after NM for further selections. Aukland says the season information from Norges Skiforbund clearly states a selection after Tour de Ski and that using NM as the deciding factor now would be contrary to those guidelines — and unfair to athletes who have already produced World Cup results. Aukland warns that delaying confirmation harms athletes’ ability to plan training and peak correctly for the Olympics.

Emil Iversen echoed Aukland’s reading of the season information and said he expects the federation to honour the announced process. He acknowledged the team leadership has changed their approach before and that he cannot be certain how they will act now — but believes his recent results put him in a good position.

Eirik Myhr Nossum responded that the staff are aware NM should only matter in special cases, and that they consider the current situation to qualify as such a case. He emphasised they will “stick to what we have said all along”: that qualification periods extend through NM and that special circumstances may justify waiting.

Stenshagen summed up his position bluntly: “It’s allowed to change your mind — but I don’t think he (Nossum) will. He should.”

The debate continues while athletes, commentators and team leaders disagree about timing and fairness. NM on Steinkjer (14–18 January) remains the possible final decision point, but many athletes want the federation to confirm selections immediately after Tour de Ski so they can begin focused Olympic preparations.