In the Friday morning sprint qualifying of the Beitostölen World Cup, we will see one particularly hungry skier who wants to show his skills on international tracks.
With strong performances in the Taivalkoski Suomen Cup and Olos sprint races Ville Ahosella had clear tones for the beginning of the season. It included the opening of the World Cup season in Ruka, after that the program would include Beitostölen and the Tour de Ski at the turn of the year.
However, Kroppa disagreed and the opening of the cup season for Ahonen, who was ill with the flu, was moved from his home country of Finland to Norway.
However, a little snot is a very minor setback for Ahonen, as he has been tested before. Ahonen, who was part of the national team’s challenger group six years ago, had a good result and if his development had remained the same, he could have knocked on the national team’s door very quickly.
Instead, Ahonen got sick with mycoplasma, which became chronic. Because of this, a promising skiing career had to be “docked” for no less than two seasons.
– Quitting was closer than I thought, Ahonen admitted before the start of the World Cup season.
From full-time skier to student
In the 2016–18 seasons, Ville Ahonen was only seen in a few competitions. Among other things, the ski championships organized by his own club, Imatra Athletes, were missed in 2017. Ahonen admits that in addition to illnesses, there were also things in training that delayed recovery.
When Ahonen’s body finally started to function normally in the fall of 2018, he quickly got into the rhythm and increased the amount of training. Around the same time, Ahonen made a significant change in his life, because he stopped being a full-time skier.
Ahonen started studying energy technology at Aalto University in Espoo. He has now graduated with a bachelor’s degree in technology and there are only a few courses and a diploma thesis left. Ahonen believes that studying has helped him continue his skiing career.
– I got something else to do and something else to think about, he stated, but admitted that the desire to play sports and compete is deeply rooted.
– In my first year in the adult series, I had good skis at the Finnish level. I knew there was potential there. I would have been left digging if I hadn’t been able to foreclose on it.
Ahonen knows that because of his break, he is somehow behind the others, but he does not want to think that he is giving the others a handicap. He has turned the situation into an asset and thinks that he is a couple of years younger endurance athlete because of the break.
Ahonen has also drawn his enthusiasm for skiing from his family. His father Kari Ahonen is known as the hustler of Imatra’s Athletes, who has been doing club work for more than 20 years. Ville’s 23-year-old younger brother Ollie belongs to the B national team and is also participating in the Beitostölen World Cup. Also brother Apo and sister Anni have skied competitively at the national level. Father still coaches both Ville and Olli.
– Family has been of great importance. I have learned a healthy lifestyle and a certain kind of sports fanaticism since I was a child. That is certainly the basis of this whole thing, Ville Ahonen said and assured that the family also talks about things other than sports.
No single jump
Ville Ahonen joined the men’s A national team last spring at a fairly mature age, as he was only a few months younger than 28 at the time. The invitation to the national team was expected, because Ahonen had been able to ski both the Scandinavian Cup and the World Cup in the winter, and with good results: Ahonen reached the top 30 in the World Cup four times.
– From the outside, last season may look like a single jump, but if you look back, I’ve had a good season for a good three years. Every year there have been fairly big steps, Ahonen estimates.
In his opinion, last year seems bigger partly because the jump came from an internationally modest level to “a very good level internationally”. However, the step was not necessarily bigger than in the previous season.
The improvement in level was influenced by the successes on the equipment side, increased and tougher training, but above all, the fact that Ahonen stayed healthy. The long-running negative cycle had finally turned positive, and when things finally started to fall into place, it fed on itself at a rapid pace.
– It was a really fast process. I didn’t really have time to think about anything at that moment, Ahonen stated.
– However, you have to remember that the higher you get, it’s a miracle if the steps are always the same length. Yes, it will level off at some point.
While in the challenger group, Ahonen worked as a team coach Ville Oksanen. The same man now works in the A national team as a coach. According to Oksanen, Ahonen is a very analytical athlete who likes to think a lot about his training and technique.
In Oksanen’s opinion, Ahonen has now found the training template that works and has brought him peace of mind.
– I want to find out about things and develop. I want to get reasons and views, why something is done in training, but I don’t really challenge the coaches, Ahonen assured.
The past seasons have taught Ahonen that anything can happen. That’s why he progresses one season and one day at a time, but also keeps his mind open to the future.
– If everything goes well, I will be able to ski this Olympics.
The track and field background can be seen especially in sprints
Ahonen is one of those skiers whose travel repertoire is quite extensive. He has achieved success and World Cup points in both the sprint and the 50 km race. In the national team, Ahonen belongs to the sprint group, and the group training at the camps has been what he has benefited from the most.
– I have always trained as sprinters train, because my strengths are definitely in economy, speed and power generation. I’ve wanted to nurture that, and it guides my practice.
– But if the results are also good on other trips, that’s not a bad thing. Especially fifty is a very good journey, it has been covered.
Ahonen’s characteristics show a strong background in athletics, as he was good at high jump and triple jump when he was younger. There are several hard runners in the national team, but Ahonen is not going to challenge, for example Iivo from Niska to track running, as his best results once came from sprinting.
Ahonen is still confident in his speed even today, and the current trend in skiing, where you move hard on skis, suits him very well.
– I have always liked to go hard on skis and in sprints things happen quickly. You have to be ready to make quick decisions, and I like that tactically. On a longer trip, the tactical side is more related to the planning of the speed distribution, and there is not necessarily such decisions made in hundredths of a second.
The traditional skiing sprint is Ville Ahonen’s choice as his favorite trip. It’s the journey where he gets his most consistent results, when everything works the way he wants it to.
The situation is made problematic by the fact that the traditional sprint is the favorite route of many other Finnish skiers, including in the national team. Next spring, at the World Championships in Planica, sprint skiing will be traditional, so there are plenty of aspirants for a representative place.
– The competitive situation is tough, you can’t get anywhere. There are many of us sprinters and almost all of them are better at traditional sprinting. But I think it’s only a good thing, Ahonen said and assured that the tough competition will push him forward.
Read also: There will be an exceptionally fierce battle for the sprint spots of the Finnish skiing World Cup team – “When winter comes, we’ll see if we’re still friends”
According to Ahonen, the competition situation is not a topic that is talked about every day in the sprint group, but it is not covered up either. Everyone is aware that the WC sprint in Planica is the main goal of the season, but only four of the seven skiers in the group can get there.
– That is the main goal and there is clearly a chance to get there when everything works out. But the competition will be tough.