Johannes Kläbo will not continue in the Norwegian national skiing team.
Johannes Kläboa is coached by his grandfather. Jenni Gästgivar
Cross-country skiing star Johannes Kläbo is leaving the Norwegian national skiing team.
Kläbo announced it on his Instagram account.
– Big changes before next season. I don’t know what the future looks like, but one thing is certain. My grandfather is still my head coach and my father my manager, Kläbo writes on Instagram.
The story continues after immersion.
If the embed is not visible on your device, you can watch it from here.
The Norwegian Ski Federation has been in financial trouble and it kept the Norwegian VG’s according to the crisis meeting on Wednesday.
According to VG’s information, the federation told the skiers at the time that the national team would have to cut costs and that the national team groups would be reduced. In the future, the men’s team will have 10 athletes instead of the previous 13. For women, the change is from 11 skiers to 10 athletes.
Kläbo told Dagbladet in announcing that this way the ski association reduces expenses and can use its small funds for athletes other than him.
Kläbo says that with this decision the union does not have to pay for his high altitude camps.
– I have several friends in the national team who have been treated badly in the selection process. I keep in close contact with my teammates, even though I’m no longer part of the national team.
It felt wrong for Kläbo to get support for his high-placed camps, while at the same time his teammates lose their places in the national team due to austerity.
The association also plans to make other savings and the purpose is to significantly reduce the marketing budget and try to save on travel.
National team manager Espen Bjervig told Dagbladet that he respected Kläbo’s decision.
– At the same time, it is important to emphasize that we would naturally have wanted him in the national team. We were positive that we would have been able to make as many arrangements as possible for Johannes for the coming season, Bjervig said.