It was in a way luck in misfortune when the combined profile Jarl Magnus Riiber fell during jumping training in Midtstubakken in Oslo in mid-June. The 22-year-old escaped serious injury, but had to look far after jumping training in the next few months.
When NTB met him at the Olympic summit between training sessions last week, it had been two months since the fall. But the injury has not physically put him back, he reassures everyone who feared a reduced Riiber until the start of the season.
– So far I have trained as usual without jumping on skis. I am very fond of jumping a lot, it makes me feel robust for a long winter. So I have to make up for some jumping in the autumn to feel solid enough for the winter, says Riiber.
The pain is gone
The injury occurred when the world’s best combined jumper jumped too far in Midtstubakken due to buoyancy.
– Then it was a little too good speed with a little too good conditions. I jumped too far, simply, and did not land completely optimally considering the knee. The right knee got a violent overcompression and all the scenes and what is around the knee got a real stretch.
The pain is on its way away, but he says he notices that he does not have to challenge the knee in certain positions.
The last two seasons, Riiber has been in a class of his own and won the World Cup by a good margin. When asked what he does to keep his distance from the competition, he answers that he looks at what kind of training has given good results in the past. He thinks it leads to him doing what is needed, and not much other nonsense, as he himself calls it.
– It is a small project this year, to do the things that affect the result in the end.
– You can train as much cross-country skiing as you want, but if it is at the expense of the resilience then it is not the gold mix.
Not so good to relax
But if there is one thing he is not good at, it is to take it easy.
– I have been a top athlete for as long as I can remember. I have had the motivation since I was little, and eaten right. There has always been a 24-hour athlete living in me, says Riiber who then tells what he is not so good at.
– The most difficult thing is to drop me off, have a hamburger and enjoy a week on holiday. I find that difficult and is something I am working on to get better at. I think it’s good in the long run, that you are not too much in that bubble.
But despite problems with relaxing, the new dad (became a father in May) feels that he has had the holiday he is supposed to have this summer.
– I got a little involuntary holiday when I was injured, I also got two weeks at the end of the joint holiday with the girl, the kid and grandparents. So I got my dose of vacation, really.
If circumstances allow, the combined runners’ season in Finnish Ruka opens on 26 November. The World Cup in Oberstdorf is scheduled for February / March.
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