"It feels like my turn to put the skis on the shelf."
Oct 27, 2021·Cross-Country
Niklas Dyrhaug has announced at the beginning of the week that he will retire as a high level athlete. “18 years ago I started at the Ski High School in Meråker and since then, Cross-Country skiing has meant everything to me,” the 34-year old Norwegian wrote on his Instagram statement on Monday, “now a new era begins and I look forward to be taking on new challenges ahead”.
With 112 starts in the World Cup and nine years on the Norwegian National Team, indeed Dyrhaug has always been a valuable and experienced person to have around the Cross-Country family. The Distance expert hit 8 individual podiums in the World Cup, was part of two winning Relay teams and took the Bronze Distance World Cup medal in 2016.
Together with his Relay Team, he realized his dream of a Gold medal at the World Ski Championships in Falun 2015 and Lahti 2017. And in the 15km C in Lahti, Niklas had in addition brought home the Bronze medal.
Unfortunately, an accident at a showrace after the Olympic Winter Games PyoengChang in 2018 brought Niklas’ performance to a halt. Despite surgery on his broken shoulder, he was never able to fully recover and come back to his strengths as before.
Nevertheless, he and his former team colleague Martin Johnsrud Sundby created the long distance Cross-Country Team Koteng Eidissen with which they will surely report back at the Visma Classics.
Many ways lead back to the Cross-Country courses and therefore, the FIS Cross-Country family is looking forward to see Niklas on course again in one way or the other and wish him all the best for his future endeavors.
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