Norway: Siltanews – News Desk
Dirt roads, pickup trucks, a six-string guitar, and… ski boots? It might sound like an unlikely combination, but Norway is redefining what it means to ‘train like a cowboy’, on snow.
From shining on the Paris 2024 track to carving through the slopes of the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, the world is taking notice: Norwegians train hard, and smart.
Sure, the results are there, but where did these revolutionary methods come from, and what makes them so effective?
Olympics.com delves into the secrets behind their success, starting with a concept as rugged as it sounds: cowboy training.
According to Thomas Ødegaarden, one of Norway’s breakout cross-country skiing stars, Norwegian cowboys come strapped with skis instead of spurs.
“In Norway, everyone is born with skis on their legs,” Ødegaarden told Olympics.com. With cross-country skiing woven into the nation’s cultural fabric, training methods have long been steeped in tradition. But for Ødegaarden, these old ways didn’t resonate.
“We have older, conservative trainers who insist, ‘This is how you become good.’ But I never felt it worked for me,” he explained. “I actually ended up retiring from the sport at 19.”
It wasn’t until Ødegaarden got lassoed into a new approach to training under the watchful eye of cross-country ski legend and 3x Olympian Tord Asle Gjerdalen. This cowboy’s unconventional methods brought Ødegaarden back to the slopes and reshaped his career.
“When I joined Tord Asle Gjerdalen’s team and started doing his ‘cowboy training,’ everything changed. His training philosophy was entirely new to me, and from there, everything just progressed,” the 25-year-old told Pro XC Skiing.
The core idea? Push harder during intense sessions, slow down on long ones, and extend overall training time. “It lets you train longer and harder, balancing both worlds. It really worked,” he said.
Despite its rugged name, cowboy training is anything but random.
“It’s funny because it sounds uncalculated, but Tord is probably the most calculated person I’ve ever met,” Ødegaarden shared. Gjerdalen, who balanced a medical degree with his skiing career, brought scientific precision to his methods.
“We focus on every little detail. And I think that the complete picture makes you even better. All these small improvements can add 1% every time. And when you add those up, you take big steps forward,” Ødegaarden explained.
In elite sports, where seconds can separate champions, that 1% edge could mean the difference between gold and silver.
Ødegaarden’s results speak for themselves. After adopting this method, he won the Ski Classics Pink Youth Bib and now eyes victories in major long-distance races.
As for the name cowboy training? “Well, it is not a secret that I am a big fan of country music,” the Norwegian added with a smile before revealing some of his favorite country artists.