Astrid yre Slind (34) thought she was at the wrong place at the wrong time when she saw Marcialonga on TV. She got rewarded for what she called “gaming” a few hours later.

Astrid Øyre Slind

– It felt weird to see Marcialonga’s program. That’s where the team is, that’s where I’m meant to be, and I nearly felt excluded, says Slind, laughing to VG.

– But I was determined to run a solid race here since it wouldn’t have been worth it otherwise, she continues.

In recent years, Slind has concentrated on long-distance running, becoming as the top long-distance runner with Sweden’s Ida Dahl.

This season, though, the Team Aker Daehlie lady has also done some traditional cross-country skiing, finishing seventh overall in the Tour de Ski.

That’s why she skipped Marcialonga (Magni Smeds won) on Sunday in order to clinch a ticket to the World Cup in three miles. And she qualifies for the World Cup after finishing third in the 20 km joint start behind Sweden’s Ebba Andersson and Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen.

Almost every weekend, she had to make a difficult decision between competing in conventional cross-country skiing and cross-country skiing – or maybe both.

– You become unsure whether it’s worth trying when I was quite far from a WC withdrawal before Christmas. I was quite close to turning down the Tour de Ski, but I couldn’t do it and was suddenly in very good shape. But it is not easy to opt out of long-distance running when I won the last two races before Marcialonga, one of the biggest races, says Slind.

– Have you felt out of place this weekend?

– Jojo, I’ve had that feeling for a long time. After all, I’ve strolled around here and trained, and wondered “crap, is it worth it?”.

– How has the blending gone?

– It’s been a hectic winter full with racing. Yes, I gambled. It can cut across both groups, but now that it’s gone well, it’ll be worth it, says Slind.

The current plan is to run the WC three-mile on Saturday, March 4, followed by the 90-kilometer Vasaloppet the following day.

– With a podium finish in the World Cup, do you become eligible for a spot on the national team?

– Well. So far, I haven’t considered anything. What I go “all in” for and on which team is a decision I make at the end of the season. Slind responds, “I feel extremely secure with my team currently,” and pledges a well-thought-out choice after the season.

Sjur Ole Svarstad, Norway’s national team coach, feels she boosts the team.

– It is obvious that she enhances a World Cup squad in races where she has skill, adds Svarstad.

Ingvild Flugstad stberg, who became the fourth woman in Les Rousses, was taken aback when she discovered it was Slind’s first World Cup podium.

– She deserves and appreciates taking first place today. So certainly an energy boost for Astrid, who has a different focal area than going to the World Cup, adds Stberg.

– Should Slind attend further World Cups after demonstrating her abilities?

– I’d like to think that making the podium adds more flavor; after all, she’s proven that she can dominate in long distances as well. So she must judge for herself, but she clearly has a role to play here.

Source: Aftenposten.no