In his early career, he finished ninth in the 30 km event at the 2003 Junior World Championships. He made his debut in the World Cup in February 2004 in Trondheim, where he finished 67th in the sprint race. He also competed in the 50 km event in Oslo the same month, where he finished 50th. In a Marathon Cup race in March 2005 in Mora, he finished sixth. Already at the 2005–06 World Cup opener in Beitostølen, in November 2005, he collected his first World Cup points with a twelfth place in the 15 km event. He followed up with a thirteenth and a fifteenth place in December, in Canmore and Nové Město respectively. In January 2006 in Lago di Tesero he finished among the top ten for the first time, with a seventh place in the 30 km event. He finished among the top five for the first time with a fourth place in March 2006 in Falun. At the 2006 Winter Olympics he finished seventeenth in the 2 × 15 km pursuit, and fifteenth in the 50 km freestyle event. He also became a part of the Norwegian national cross-country skiing squad. He had been offered a team spot twice before, but rejected both times, as it would interfere with his medicine studies.