Henrik Kristoffersen:

“Maybe I’m just not that social”

Henrik Kristoffersen

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Ski star Henrik Kristoffersen has been winless for 22 months. The Norwegian doesn't talk much to his colleagues: "Maybe I'm just not that social."

Henrik Kristoffersen left the ski bubble over the summer and enjoyed seclusion with his girlfriend Tonje and son Emil. In the previous season, the Norwegian failed to win a World Cup for the first time since 2012/13, but with second place in the giant slalom in Sölden, he hinted that he could be a force to be reckoned with again this year. The 30-year-old is the last male Levi winner (2019) and has finished on the podium five times in six appearances.

Henrik Kristoffersen

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Changes in the mind and on the slopes
Last season was a mess for the super technician. He struggled with tuning problems with his equipment and was not fully fit for a long time. He hasn't won a race since the Wengen slalom on January 15, 2023. It was a vicious circle, explained Kristoffersen. In the meantime, however, he has got the good feeling back. "I've changed a lot in my head and in my skiing, because things weren't working that way and then you develop patterns in your skiing that are perhaps the wrong ones," he reported. "I think it looks a lot better now."

Kristoffersen did not want to go into any more detail. He also did not reveal anything about training comparisons with returnee Lucas Pinheiro Braathen. He had hardly spoken to Marcel Hirscher, another prominent comebacker in the World Cup, over the summer. As the mastermind behind the Van Deer-Red Bull Sports ski company, the Austrian is both his boss and brand colleague. "I generally don't talk to many people in August, September and October. I mean, I talk to people, but I have my group. I don't have any inside information about what others from the Ski World Cup are doing," Kristoffersen reported. "Maybe I'm just not that social."

Change of bandage? "Have to talk to my father first"
At the 2025 World Ski Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Kristoffersen will not be able to avoid getting up close and personal with lots of people. The slalom world champion has lived in Salzburg for several years and plans to stay there for even longer. "I love Austria, we will probably buy a new house just outside the city of Salzburg," revealed the winner of 30 World Cup races. Kristoffersen has even flirted with dual citizenship in the media on several occasions. "If someone from the Austrian government gave me a passport, I would certainly take it. Whether I change the federation, I would have to talk to my father first."

Compared to earlier phases in his career, he is now somewhere else in terms of his place in life. The birth of Emil in the summer of 2023 opened up new perspectives. "Not much has changed for me, but the perspective on risk has changed a little," he said. "I'm incredibly worried that something could happen to him. I'm no longer so worried about what could happen to me." Accordingly, he wants to proceed with caution in his skiing education. "I don't see any way of him skiing this winter," Kristoffersen clarified.

Diapers and "World of Warcraft"
Emil started the kindergarten toddler group in Salzburg in the fall. Kristoffersen tries to be an active father. "Sure, I also go to Billa and buy diapers," he says. According to the Norwegian portal VG, he suffered serious burns when he tried to prepare baby food for his son with a blender this summer. Despite his role as a father, he was able to train to the same extent in the summer as before. Even hobbies such as video games can apparently still be accommodated. At the moment, he enjoys playing the classic role-playing game "World of Warcraft".