“I’m super excited to go back to Liberec,” says Hilde Landheim, 19, who is one of the Norwegian skiers named to the Norwegian Junior Worlds team. The FIS World Junior Nordic Championships open in Liberec (CZE) on January 20 and conclude on January 27.
Madshus racer Landheim hopes for a happy rendezvous with the courses where she had her first international breakthrough, at the 2011 Youth Olympics.
The 19-year-old doesn’t feel pressured to perform in Liberec. She’s just excited. “I’m so happy to be on the team,” she says.
“The only pressure is the pressure I put on myself, maybe. I just love racing and I hope I have good races,” Landheim says.
“But of course it’s a extra fun to come back to a place where I have raced well before, “ she adds.
“I’m really pleased to qualify,” says Landheim, who had to work hard for her spot.
Landheim’s early season didn’t quite go as planned, and she was struggling to find her race form. But finally, just as the world’s qualifiers got underway in December, everything started working out for her. She won the skate race and was third in the classic race. And the first weekend in January she won all the races in the Norwegian Cup.