“For the wrong jengos at the very beginning” – here are the expert’s choices for Planica’s message group

The Finnish women’s relay general at the Toblach World Cup did not go well. The team started the competition with a surprising four, when Johanna Matintalo and Krista Pärmäkoski skied traditional sections, Emmi Lämsä and Anne Kyllönen free shares. The result was fifth place at first, but the ranking went up a notch when Germany, who came in second, was disqualified.

– Surely this message was a bye, even through those message choices, Urheilu’s expert Ville Nousiainen said in the Sports Studio.

Read also: The women’s team’s relay choices made the expert wonder – the head coach’s explanation was also confusing

Matintalo and Pärmäkoski are so-called sure skiers for the relay, if nothing surprising happens. Nousiainen believes that Pärmäkoski will ski a different leg in the World Cup relay in Planica.

Women’s coach Jussi Piirainen admitted to Urheilu that Finland’s message was by no means what was expected.

– It went on the wrong track at the very beginning, and then at no point could it join the leading groups, Piirainen said and referred to Johanna Matintalo’s freezing in the opening section.

Matintalo stated that he himself cannot say what happened to him. Up until the halfway point, the performance seemed reasonable, but after that he got an abnormal feeling. Matintalo’s spouse Lauri Vuorinen got sick in Toblach on Wednesday and had to go home before the race weekend.

– At the end, when we started skiing hard, it felt like concrete. I can’t tell if there’s something small in my body too. There was no normal fatigue.

– Tomorrow I will return to Finland and then we will find out more. I hope I get back to normal shape quickly.

Krista Pärmäkoski was the third fastest in her section, but the gap grew because she had to ski a lot alone. Pärmäkoski was the chaser right from the start, as he got to the start in fourth place, almost 16 seconds instead of third.

– I started quite hard and at risk, it was visible in the second round. Quite good skiing in places, but the hands and feet were a different pair today. When the legs are in the condition that the hands are in, I think it will be really good, Pärmäkoski assured.

Emmi Lämsä found herself in a difficult place, because she was not satisfied with the state of her body and, moreover, she also had to ski a lot alone. Instead, Anne Kyllönen was just like another woman compared to Saturday’s 10 km free race (42nd).

– Yesterday I lost my country, so to speak, and quite a lot of black humor was cultivated with Emmi in our room. That seems to have helped. The sensations are pretty much like night and day. Not the best today either, but a step forward compared to yesterday, Kyllönen said.

Kyllönen caught up with the second Norwegian team and passed on the final straight, even though there was still a kilometer before the finish line, 20 seconds behind.

Piirainen: The team is getting ready

Finland has nine women in Toblach, so the coaching management considered putting two teams in the relay. According to Piirainen, however, the coaching ended up emphasizing that the athletes are in the best shape for the upcoming World Championships, which will start in 2.5 weeks.

– There is time, but there have been so many competitions here. We want to make sure that the competitive spirit is at its best and that the best climbing condition is achieved for every athlete there in Planica, Piirainen said.

– For all athletes, it is not the best possible preparation to take many competitions in two consecutive weekends at this most important moment.

Finland was almost three and a half minutes behind the winner Norway. According to Piirainen, there are so many moving parts in the Finnish women’s relay team. He still has a strong belief that Finland can even fight for victory in the World Cup relay.

– All competitions have now been skied, what can be skied before the World Championships. Yes, that team is starting to be pretty much ready in our minds, Piirainen said.

Expert message grouping in Planica

Ville Nousiainen’s Finnish women’s relay team is already ready. In his opinion, Matintalo is the skier of the first stage, he whistled on Sunday Kerttu Niskanen second part, Eveliina Piippo the skier of the first free, i.e. the third section, and Pärmäkoski as the anchor.

In his opinion, Matintalo and Niskanen are clear choices for the traditional skiing sections, because Niskanen in particular can make a difference to the others on the second section.

– Planica has a more challenging track than even these tracks. There is a long uphill section, so Piipon’s Eve is then the woman on the third section, Nousiainen reasoned.

– Krista can solve the anchor part. I don’t really see any other options for the team.