Kristiansen, who started for the Lillehammer Ski Club , ran his first World Cup race in March 1992 in Vang , which he finished classically in 18th place over 50 km. In December 1993 he got his first World Cup points in Ramsau am Dachstein with the 28th place over 10 km freestyle and the 21st place in the subsequent pursuit. In the 1993/94 season he came three times in the points and reached the 31st place in the overall World Cup. He also won second place with the relay in Lahti . At the season highlight, the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer , he was eighth in the 30 km freestyle. In the following season he finished nine individual starts in the World Cup, seven places in the points, including three top ten results. In Sappada he won the relay and achieved his best individual result in the World Cup with sixth place over 10 km freestyle. At the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1995 in Thunder Bay , he ran in 39th place over 50 km freestyle. He finished the season in 19th place in the overall World Cup and achieved his best overall result. In the 1995/96 season he was third in Lahti and second in Oslo with the relay. His best individual placement was 15th place over 10 km freestyle in Falun and thus achieved 44th place in the overall World Cup. In the following season he finished in the points in all four individual World Cup competitions and thus finished 41st in the overall World Cup. In December 1996 he won in Brusson with the relay. In the following years he mostly achieved placements in the midfield. He made his 46th and last individual World Cup start in March 2001 in Kuopio , which he finished in 24th place in the 60 km mass start race. At the beginning of the 2001/02 season he started in Davos for the last time in the World Cup and finished 15th in the relay.
After his career, Kristiansen was national trainer for Norwegian women in cross-country skiing from 2006 to 2016. He has been coaching the Norwegian men's national biathlon team since 2016.
Placements in the World Cup
World Cup Statistics
The table shows the placements achieved in detail.
1st – 3rd place: Number of podium placements
Top 10: Number of places in the top ten
Points ranks: Number of placements within the point ranks
Starts: Number of races run in the respective discipline
Note: In the distance races, the classification is based on the FIS.
Norway