In this article, Kristoffersen talks about joining Team Eksjöhus, the differences between traditional and long-distance skiing, and the drive to learn ‘new things.’

In 2017, Marthe Kristoffersen retired from the professional rankings. Her impressive results included:

• Five individual podium places in the World Cup.
• Two World Cup victories in the relay.
• Participation in two World Championships and a Winter Olympic Games.

Shortly after the end of her career, she stepped into the coaching role. First, she worked at the NTG sports high school in Lillehammer, and for the past three years, she was a coach in one of the Norwegian regional teams, Team Elon.

During the spring, she took the step across the border and stepped into the role of coach for the Swedish-based Pro Team, Team Eksjöhus.

How have the reactions in Norway been after your new agreement?

“I can’t say that there have been that many reactions, and I didn’t leave Norway because it was bad. I jumped at this agreement because it seemed so exciting,” says Kristoffersen to Langd.se during her first day at the Pro Team’s training camp in Eksjö.

What was the appeal of this challenge?

“I definitely wanted to continue working with cross-country skiing, but I also want new momentum and the opportunity to be part of a competition circuit that is new to me, like Ski Classics is. It’s a great opportunity that seemed too good to turn down. I am really looking forward to starting work with the skiers.”

How do you see the training differences between being a coach to long-distance skiers compared to a group that is focused on traditional distances?

“Physically, there are many parts that are the same. And traditional skiers can also perform in Ski Classics. But to win, there are other requirements. You have to practice specific things. And there are clear differences. It is one – the races are longer, and two – you must double pole. So, it’s about breaking up your training and making sure you train specific parts to bring the whole thing together.”

There is a slightly different training culture in traditional versus long-distance skiing. Generally, traditional skiers train two sessions daily, and long-distance skiers one long session. How will you set up the training for your athletes?

“The long races that are involved for the long-distance skiers mean that you have to have the long sessions. But, for the physical part, it is good to train twice to get a good load on the body. So, there it will be a good mix. But it is quite clear that there will be longer sessions here than and very much more specific training in the form of long training sessions than if I were to train a skier whose focus is on sprints in the free technique.”

Nine Pro Team athletes are part of Team Eksjöhus. Seven of these are new athletes for the 33-year-old coach Kristoffersen. 

But Magni Smedås (last year’s overall runner-up in Ski Classics and winner of Marcialonga and Jizerská50) and Eirik Sverdrup Augdal (who previous season, invested in both long-distance races and traditional cross-country skiing) have both had Marthe Kristoffersen as their coach before.

How much of the athletes’ training will you manage in the future?

“It is individual how much training they want me to manage. The skier is the expert on his body and what works, so I get to learn from them. But it’s about being a team and working together. I can give input regarding the training, but the skier has to do the work. And the goal is to create such independent skiers that, in the long run, they make all good training choices independently. Then, as a team, we have laid a common thread around how we want to be physically at different times of the year. Among other things, it is about the fact that we will run many roller skiing races in August, but we will not ‘use up’ any form there. We should be at a good level then, and we will go into August at a better level than we have now. But it’s during winter and Ski Classics that it matters.”

Are you interested in long-distance races and Ski Classics? Click here and read more.