Skirious problems

Recorded in the middle of Blink Festival in Sandnes - with four people, three microphone cables and very tired legs - Mika and Jimmy sit down with Blink founder and sports director Arne Idland and IDT Sports' Morten Iversbakken.
Morten explains why IDT brings 1,300 pairs of brand-new roller skis to Blink, whether Lysebotn Opp times can really be compared across different years, and why equal equipment, logistics and athlete safety matter.
Arne tells the story of how Blink grew from an idea shared with legendary NRK commentator Kjell Kristian Rike into a free city-centre festival owned by the people of Sandnes. The conversation then gets bigger: what can World Cups learn from Blink, why does biathlon appear more willing to change than cross-country skiing, should roller skiing become part of the main World Cup, do we need more race formats - and do we even need classic technique?
This one contains skiing, business, city-building, FIS versus the IBU, a proposed Norwegian Olympics and the usual amount of Skirious chaos.
BLINK: https://www.blinkfestivalen.no/
IDT Sports: https://idtsports.com/

Does the famous “Norwegian training method” actually exist?

Professor Øyvind Sandbakk joins Mika and Jimmy for a deep conversation about what has really made Norway so successful—not only in cross-country skiing, but across endurance sport.

We discuss Norway’s wealth, sporting culture, club system and willingness to share knowledge; why copying individual Norwegian sessions often misses the bigger picture; and whether many athletes would develop better by staying home instead of chasing altitude camps.

The conversation then turns to how cross-country skiers are actually built: technique versus physiology, volume versus intensity, training at 14, 18 and 22, learning through failure, and why testing should be viewed as facing reality—not sitting an exam.

Topics include:

•⁠ ⁠Is there really a Norwegian method?
•⁠ ⁠What can countries with fewer resources realistically copy?
•⁠ ⁠Is altitude training overrated?
•⁠ ⁠Running versus roller skiing
•⁠ ⁠How training should develop from junior to senior level
•⁠ ⁠When more volume becomes valuable
•⁠ ⁠Why athletes need room to make mistakes
•⁠ ⁠What “talent” actually means in cross-country skiing
•⁠ ⁠Mika’s own training development and recent struggles

This is not a conversation about finding one perfect training programme. It is about understanding why different athletes need different routes—and why the environment around the training may matter just as much as the sessions themselves.

Subscribe to Skirious Problems for more honest conversations from inside cross-country skiing.

#CrossCountrySkiing #EnduranceTraining #NorwegianMethod

Jimmy and Mika are back with your No. 1 Nordic podcast, and this time they’re joined by Johannes Rydzek for an in-depth conversation about one of the biggest stories in winter sports: the removal of Nordic Combined from the Olympic program.
Johannes shares his perspective on what the decision means for athletes, the future of the sport, and why he believes Nordic Combined still deserves its place on the biggest stage. We discuss how the news has affected the community, what can be done to grow the sport, and the challenges athletes now face as they look beyond the next Olympic cycle.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Skirious Problems without plenty of laughs along the way. From behind-the-scenes stories on the World Cup to the usual banter between Jimmy and Mika, this episode has a bit of everything.
Fresh episodes every two weeks, plus behind-the-scenes training VLOGs coming soon.

Jimmy and Mika are back with your No. 1 Nordic podcast, and this time they're joined by American ski star Sophia Laukli for an honest conversation about one of the toughest seasons of her career.
After stepping away from racing to deal with ongoing health challenges, Sophia opens up about what it was really like to put skiing on hold, the physical and mental battles behind the scenes, and how she's worked her way back toward the World Cup.
We talk about rebuilding fitness from scratch, learning to trust the process again, balancing ski racing with trail running, and what motivates her as she returns to competition. Sophia also shares insights into life on the U.S. team, training, racing, and what she's hoping to achieve this winter.
Of course, it wouldn't be Skirious Problems without plenty of laughs along the way. From training stories and travel chaos to the usual banter between Jimmy and Mika, this episode has a bit of everything.

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Jimmy and Mika are back with your nb 1 nordic podcast and this time they’re joined by Lillehammer local Kasper Herland from Team Anlegg Øst for a proper deep dive into one of the most impressive breakthrough seasons on the circuit.Kasper takes us behind the scenes of Team Anlegg Øst’s huge year, from the day-to-day grind to the moments that changed everything. We talk about his rapid rise to a top-5 finish in his very first World Cup race, what clicked in his training, and how a small private setup can compete with the big national teams.Of course, it wouldn’t be Skirious Problems without a few disasters along the way. Kasper shares stories of completely bonking on the bike, suffering through brutal sessions, and the lessons learned from going a little too deep.The conversation also gets properly nerdy. We dig into training philosophy, intensity control, threshold work, ski-specific endurance, recovery, and all the little details endurance athletes obsess over. If you enjoy the geekier side of training, this one’s for you.And between all that, there’s plenty of banter, laughs, and classic podcast chaos from Jimmy and Mika.Fresh episodes every two weeks plus behind-the-scenes training VLOGs coming soon.🎧 SUBSCRIBE TO “SKIRIOUS PROBLEMS” ON:* Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1nVdyNDhttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2QxcEt1cFN0VWUyNlJ6Qm9wWWZ2UFhhbGdhQXxBQ3Jtc0tsR3F5UTREODNORUxGMThDaEVzZFhsaXZQaHYxWDZHUkt1VkdxSUEtei0ycjljdnlUSUg4cFVhSTJmdEpLSHpxekVxWWZmMHBCM0Zfak9JOVRzTm1jdEpqd0VqcWZONWRXbkFiZmsyUmdXeGdNN2FQZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Fshow%2F1nVdyNDukQ7Ucv7IdfXzpg%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0&v=b_avBy6GbeA* Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcasthttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWtwRlBqYTNpRDh4b1doYkVRUEJ5UWdJcHY2QXxBQ3Jtc0tuSk1EdDY3amUyS3RtZ2tYMVdxSnBPWTZvWllUZG5obTNxcm5OV2NiakUzVWl5THNkeWRaRFZzTHRyZTBQeTd2MzB0ZGFZVUJLVVlhUlRwWEs1aDF2d1BwMFh4UDVkeEZtdnV1Y0FhRWFrVFRvM005cw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fno%2Fpodcast%2Fskirious-problems%2Fid1718097138&v=b_avBy6GbeA⁠- RSS-Feed: ⁠⁠https://anchor.fm/s/ed0abed0/podcast/rss ⁠* YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLUlyGJW-RXmRlAZHfACivg⁠⁠🤳🏼 FOLLOW US:* Skirious Problems: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVBMb2VWYnlJZjhSN1JPX1FhMXlic19xak9md3xBQ3Jtc0tsempCVjNKNjlPTXpGendqUDJYeDRyMW1sZWlsR0tydzRudm1RWHpob19TRElUTVlyeUtJcnBlVUtkMFprTVkyQW5hLTMxeVF4V2d3d1BHRGQ5YWdEbUZGU2ZDSWNDSEpmRTVITFhJcFg0NTFjT0ptNA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fskirious_problems&v=b_avBy6GbeA ⁠* Mika Vermeulen: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmMwMEJlN1pZV0MtN3g3R1ZSZ183cE9KODdSZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsMmJqc0dKbldzcHZtTVdXYXdzM1FaTTNRanNHa1VwdllBcWJxZ096QURGWGJ5Mm1NUFJYQzVuS1NOdGs5UjlTREhjeEJhNHZkdk5JTkoxT2lsMDZ1cHNJT2tlUUFtYngzMktxbkVZV2xubVdNNVZmOA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fmikaa_ver&v=b_avBy6GbeA ⁠* James Clugnet: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbGFBY1NFYnFSWDlSWkZMYllNWUQ5cDNqTXF3d3xBQ3Jtc0tseE1jVDMxd1B4SXg3cGNfTGhWZzhMODNzM1YxZXVKTVdPdlNSb2luYXpHcDdwVjU0UGlHYzlPY2I5cjNDNFQtWExXOElaNElSeWVFSXNNT3lDOGtHY21kdUU1czRzVVFnOHByekVkejZETjQwejVRQQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fjimmycluggz&v=b_avBy6GbeA ⁠⁠