– I’m not going to say much, I’m just going to say something stupid.
That’s what the Swedish Team Aker Dæhlie runner Max Novak says to NRK after he finished third in the 100 kilometer Janteloppet on Saturday morning.
– Almost an attempted murder
Novak was frustrated, very frustrated, about what happened during the race, which is the last race of the season in the Ski Classics.
– In the second round, I don’t know if you caught it on TV, but there was a small incident there. Almost an attempted murder. I hit the shoulder, it went completely dead. I was on the verge of tears and thought the race was over, says Novak to NRK.
STATED: Max Novak had a bitter feeling after finishing third in the Janteloppet.
Photo: Terje Haugnes / NRK
When asked what happened, Novak says he went to the ground and hit his shoulder after being involved in a fall.
– It was completely impossible to avoid being felled. I hit my shoulder, I couldn’t touch it. I thought it was over there. I stood completely still at the bottom of the hill and almost cried, he says.
– But then I thought, “damn, I have to get up”. I tested (the shoulder) a little bit, and it hurt, but when I got into it, I regained the lead. On the next lap I went away, but then came the next bang when Lager157 slipped away. It stings today, it does, he says.
It was the two Lager157 runners Torleif Syrstad and Runar Skaug Mathisen who took first and second place ahead of Novak on Saturday.
OUTRAGED: Max Novak suffered shoulder problems after a fall in the Janteloppet on Saturday.
Photo: NRK
According to Novak, it was Lager157 oiler Petter Myhlback, former head of oiling for the Swedish national team, who caused the accident on the second round.
The accident occurred in the long zone where drinks are handed out during the race.
– Have said sorry to Max
Myhlback told NRK that the two had a falling out after the race.
– I have spoken to Max afterwards and this is what can happen in a tight long zone. What happens is that the runners are pushed out on my backside, because it goes so damn fast. It’s not like I’m standing between the tracks. It’s an accident, a “race incident” in the service zone. It’s just to be sorry, that’s how it happens and I’ve said sorry to Max, if I have anything to be sorry for. There is nothing strange here, but it is boring when it happens, he says to NRK.
– How did it happen?
– It was in the service zone where it went extremely fast. It went very, very fast.
SQUARED UP: Petter Myhlback has spoken to Novak after the race.
Photo: Terje Haugnes / NRK
Myhlback, who is also the father of the great talent Alvar (was number 23 in the Janteloppet), believes there is little he could have done differently.
– It’s never fun, but I don’t know if I’m the whole brain behind it. I haven’t seen it on TV or anything. But many of us were involved, there were many service teams there, I don’t know, he says.
It is still difficult to say exactly what happened when the accident occurred.
– No, there were more people who fell there, I didn’t see it. I never bumped into anyone, I never had any physical contact with anyone, says Petter Myhlback.
Novak is keen to show that he is full of admiration for his two superiors on Saturday, but believes he would have had a chance if both the accident had not occurred and his skis had been better.
– I don’t want to take anything away from them in terms of their performance, because it takes a lot to walk around here, but I felt really strong today. It would have been nice to get a win, he says.
TOP THREE: Janteloppet’s three best men on the podium.
Photo: Terje Haugnes / NRK
Syrstad to the top
It was Torleif Syrstad who won the Ski Classics final with an impressive performance. In very tough conditions with soft and loose snow, the 30-year-old from Lundamo won with a margin of two minutes and 50 seconds to Mathisen.
– I have had one fall, three pole bumps and went wrong. It’s fantastic to take it anyway, it didn’t go completely smoothly along the way today, says Syrstad to NRK after the victory.
This made it a double victory on home ground for this year’s winners of Vasaloppet (Syrstad) and Marcialonga (Mathisen). The two Lager 157 runners linked their grip on the race towards the end, but Mathisen was unable to hang on to Syrstad.
– The heaviest race I have run, said Syrstad in the finish area.
Birken winner Andreas Nygaard took 4th place behind Max Novak.
In the women’s class, it was a clear victory for Emilie Fleten. She led by over eight minutes when three quarters of the race was completed.
– A fantastic day. I just have to thank the greasers, they did a fantastic job, she says to NRK.
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Published 13.04.2024, at 15.13 Updated 13.04.2024, at 15.24