– We have to have a good and honest discussion now. Otherwise, it will be very difficult in five years to raise money and maintain interest in the sport, said Devon Kershaw, a former world sprint relay champion from Holmenkollen.

His phone was flooded with messages from other Canadians wondering how Norway’s domination came about. Ski retirees have described Norway’s World Cup run as “absolutely sick” and “very impressive”. But he is worried.

– On the male side, there is complete domination that I have never seen before. You’ve never had as much dominance as you do now, said Kershaw, before adding:

– This is not a Norwegian problem, this is an international cross-country skiing problem. If it continues, the risk will not only become an A, B or C sport internationally. Then it becomes a D sport.

The winners of the first four races were Norwegians: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Iver Tildheim Andersen. The name of the World Cup manager is Pål Golberg. The race in Lillehammer on Friday is billed as the Norwegian Cup and National Championship. Emil Iversen joked that it was a “low level Norwegian Cup” as only twelve Norwegians took part.

Nine of them are among the top ten.

Andrew Musgrave – who is running for Røa and receiving Norwegian lubrication assistance – is the only one to stay at the top. The Scotsman is still number four. Even reserve Henrik Dønnestad, who had to be called up from the long haul in Sjusjøen, is number 15.

– This is really crazy. What Iver Tildheim Andersen did today… He ran his second World Cup race and then he won. This is the level in Norwegian cross-country skiing.

Kershaw believes the progress has been visible for several years – and that action must now be taken from both smaller nations and the International Ski and Boarding Federation (FIS). The last few years have been mostly about two nations on the men’s side, especially in long distance running. Norway and Russia.

– Not very good for sports

When the latter is not on the starting line, it will be the Norwegian Grand Slam.

– Other nations are far from where they are. I think when you miss Germany, who was very strong 15 years ago… And then you miss strong long distance runners like Pietro Piller Cottrer (Italy). France struggled a bit. You no longer have Vincent Vittoz. Maurice Manificat is getting old, says Kershaw, and continues:

– Canada has promising athletes, but not quite there. US same. It’s looking pretty bad internationally.

NRK expert Torgeir Bjørn agrees that it is unprofitable to allow domination to continue. He believes the trend is clear: Norway is overwhelmingly dominant. At the same time, he believes that there are easy factors at play this season:

– Russia is out. Iivo Niskanen is still sick and Sweden missed skiing today.

– Norway often dominates at the start of the season. We’ve seen equally dominant Norwegian teams on occasion in the past, but we’ll probably see them more often than ever. It’s not good for him to be allowed to stay for a long time, says Bjørn, and highlights two examples:

• The World Cup started in Kuopio in the 2001/02 season with eight Norwegians in the first eight places.
• Eight Norwegians among the top ten in Oberstdorf in December 1996.

– He good for Norway, but not so great for sports. We’d prefer to have more foreigners there. I’m not surprised, there are very high levels in Norway on the men’s side, Hans Christer Holund told NRK.

The defending world champion in the 15 kilometer distance believed, like Bjørn, that it would work at the end of the season. William Poromaa from Sweden, who is still in 11th place, believes and hopes the same:

– It’s boring for me as a Swede to see like that. But they went fast, and today it looks like things are going well for them. For us today, it didn’t quite work out and then there will be a big difference, Poromaa told NRK.

Kershaw: – Both sad and interesting

Kershaw’s fear is that Norway’s dominance will be leased out to disinterested international viewers. As the show shines in their absence overseas, the sponsors and the money are gone. Then there won’t be much left to invest.

– The time has come for smaller teams to look at themselves in the mirror and see the possibility of working together with meetings, desecrations and the like. Because it can lift an entire nation. Success breeds success. The younger ones need a car.

He spoke emphatically on the topic. The former world champion is openly engaged. If the distance between the Norwegians and the others continued at the same level, he thought they would also lose faith.

– If you are being crushed year after year, you are suddenly in a situation where many people believe they can no longer compete. That’s worrying on the male side. What’s a little sad and interesting: Money is important, but you shouldn’t lose faith that you can actually make it happen.

So far, only one foreigner, Italy’s Federico Pellegrino, has been on the podium at Ruka and Lillehammer. He is among the favorites to do it again when there is a sprint at the Birkebeineren ski stadium on Saturday morning.

PS! TV 2 shows the race from Lillehammer, while NRK Sport broadcasts the radio broadcast. The prologue starts at 09.30. The final round will start at 12.00.