Niskanen, who skied Korona, is participating in the Tour de Ski and believes that he can already ski individual races at a good level. The tour starts on Saturday with the Val Müstair sprints.
SpongeBob Forsberg,
Laura Arffman
Iivo Niskanen competes for the first time this season in the World Cup when the Tour de Ski starts on Saturday with the sprints in Val Müstair.
The Finnish skiing ace fell ill with the corona just before Ruka’s opening weekend and shortly after that he became a father. A total of four World Cup weekends were missed.
– It has been a special time. It has taken a surprisingly long time for me to get back to normal training, let alone to dream about the Games, says Niskanen.
The Kuopio native was able to return to normal training two weeks after his illness.
– The week passed completely within four walls. From there, it went up and maybe there was a little recoil back. I have been able to do normal training for a couple of weeks.
According to Niskanen, who came to Val Müstair to train, his competitors have welcomed him well in international circles.
– Yes, there might have been a question during the run about where to go. It’s nice to see competitors after a long time. I had to mess with several people and get ripped off.
Energy from fatherhood
According to Niskanen, getting sick with the corona virus hit a good seam in a way, because he got to spend time at home with his newborn son.
– There was no need to stress when you simply couldn’t go for a run, but you were able to participate, that maybe there was something positive in being sick. It went a lot faster this way than if I had twiddling my thumbs. A nice and great time without anything else.
According to Niskanen, fatherhood has changed everyday life outside of training. In addition to the dog Timo, there is now another friend under my arm.
– It’s hard to describe it with any single word. I knew it was a great thing. But when it becomes concrete, it has brought a good feeling in a completely different way than anything else before.
Free Sprint to traffic
Niskanen, who has the 50 km traditional race of the World Championships as his main goal, plans to ski at least the first three races of the Tour de Ski and decide on his continuation after that. The Tour starts with a free sprint, which is not the strength of a traditional split start specialist.
– The sprint goes under its own weight. I’m in pretty good shape. More of a question mark is how it lasts and recovers from competitions. I believe that I can already ski a single race at a sufficient level.
shows the Val Müstair and Val di Fiemme races on its channels. Sprint qualifying starts on Saturday at 12:30.
Val Müstair:
31.12. at 12:30 men’s and women’s sprint qualifying (v) Over
31.12. at 15.00 sprint heats (v) Over
1.1. at 1 pm women’s 10 km pursuit (p) Over
1.1. at 2:15 p.m. men’s 10 km pursuit (p) Over
Oberstdorf:
3.1. at 12:45 p.m. women’s 10 km split start (p)
3.1. at 15:45 men’s 10 km split start (p)
4.1. at 12.15 men’s 20 km pursuit (v)
4.1. at 15.30 women’s 20 km pursuit (v)
Val di Fiemme:
6.1. at 11 a.m. men’s and women’s sprint qualifying (p) Over
6.1. at 1:30 p.m. sprint heats (p) Over
7.1. at 12.45 pm women’s 15 km joint start (day) Over
7.1. at 2:30 p.m. men’s 15 km joint start (p) Over
8.1. at 12 noon women’s final ascent 9 km joint start (v) Over
8.1. at 1:45 p.m. men’s final ascent 9 km joint start (v) Over