Kerttu Niskasen and Krista Pärmäkoski have excellent conditions for a rare Finnish achievement – one wish from the expert Tour de Skille

According to Kalle Lassila, missing the Tour de Ski would not be a setback in terms of Iivo Niskanen’s race opportunities.

I was absent from the opening competitions of the World Cup Skiing season Iivo Niskanen has been announced for the Tour de Ski starting on December 31st. However, participation is not yet certain, as the star skier will make a decision closer to the start of the tour.

Niskanen fell ill with the coronavirus on the eve of the World Cup season. The Finnish ace has missed the race weekends of Ruka, Lillehammer, Beitostölen and Davos.

Sports expert Kalle Lassila estimates that Niskanen will not participate if he does not feel that he is in top condition. In Niskanen’s case, everything is done at the turn of February-March on the condition of the World Ski Championships held in Planica, Slovenia.

– Now we live on the condition that the man is at his best in the World Championships. After the corona, he has begun to train carefully. I don’t think it makes sense for them to take any risks with the Tour. If it serves the whole, Iivo will start, says Lassila.

Niskanen has often been successful in qualifying for value races. Lassila does not see that missing the Tour would be a bad thing in terms of the World Championships.

– The critical thing for him is not that he can ski against the world’s best in certain competitions. The most important thing for him is that his condition develops in the best way for the value competitions. In principle, it is a more natural way for him to start with a less frequent competition calendar towards prestigious competitions.

– They have accumulated a lot of testing over several years. Testing can be done under controlled conditions even with carpet skiing. Ivo and Olli Ohtonen (the coach) also know what condition we are in.

The Finnish duo in the battle for victory

Lassila says that the Finnish Tour de Ski team is highly anticipated. There are several sprinters on the women’s side who are likely to stop the tour right after the first sprint to be skied on the opening day.

Already won one race this season Kerttu Niskanen and generally doing well at the Tour de Ski Krista Pärmäkoski according to Lassila, are among the winning candidates.

The program should favor the Finnish duo. Four of the seven races are skied in the traditional way – three of them are races of a normal distance. Finns only Virpi Kuitunen has won the overall race (2007 & 2009).

– Especially for Kerttu Niskanen, it’s a really good situation, Lassila refers to the competition program.

At the Tour de Ski, even hard standard distance skiers do well in sprints. According to Lassila, already on the opening day in Val Müstair, the free sprint can suit Finland’s top two surprisingly well.

– The first free sprint is skied very high and it is a very long course. Pärmäkoski and Niskanen have skied quite well there.

Lassila throws one wish at the Tour de Skille. In Oberstdorf, there is a 20-kilometer pursuit.

– What could go more optimally is the free race in Oberstdorf. If it is a fast, fast and icy platform, it is not suitable for Finns. For that, such a working woman and man climate, so it is more optimal for Finns.