Matias Strandvall thinks about whether Niko Anttola is ready for the pressure cooker of the relay race. In this story, every morning we go over the topics, surprises and flops of the World Cup skiing.
The broadcast of the sports studio starts at 13:15 on TV2 and Areena.
The broadcast of Puhe starts at 1:20 p.m.
at 1:30 p.m. skiing, 4×5 km relay, women
at 18:30 ski jumping HS138, men, qualifying
at 21:00 The best of the day
What are we talking about?
Speculating about message choices is the salt of prestigious ski competitions – and this time too. The women’s relay team was released on Wednesday, it’s the men’s turn today.
In Urheilu’s vote, the public’s favorite men’s relay team was in the order of skiing Cross mat Hakola, Iivo Niskanen, Remi Lindholm and Perttu Hyvärinen.
However, Wednesday’s 15-kilometer combined race raised the question – should the debutant of the prestigious race be allowed Niko Anttolan replace Lindholm?
Anttola was more than half a minute faster than Lindholm in the 15 km free skiing distance.
– Niko convinced me. He should definitely be chosen for the message for freestyle skiing, Urheilu’s expert Ville Nousiainen said.
– Yes, I certainly did. The Finnish men’s team is in such a situation that it is not worth looking for a sure, even composition, because the medal is not direct realism. You should prioritize hot skiers, Ylen Urheilu’s expert Kalle Lassila your comp.
Sporten’s expert Matias Strandvall reminded that Anttola’s top performance on Wednesday came in a place where the 20-year-old athlete was not under any pressure to succeed. That’s why Strandvall wouldn’t choose Anttola for the relay team.
– A medal is always expected from the men’s relay team, even though there hasn’t been one for a long time. In such a situation, the pressure increases, and I wouldn’t put him in such a position yet, Strandvall reasoned.
Who surprised?
Not a hill jumper Jenny Rautionaho maybe only surprised on Wednesday, but overall Planica’s strong performance has been a surprise.
Rautionaho fell at the World Cup in Willingen at the beginning of February. The Finn was carried away from the competition venue on a stretcher and he had to stay in the hospital for three days.
The Finn has recovered from a bad concussion to a high jump, which surprised even Finland’s head coach.
Rautionaho jumped 13th and 16th in the games, which are the top-3 results in Finnish women’s hill history. The best result is Julia Kykkänen tenth place from the 2013 World Championships.
– Yes, these competitions are going very well. The starting points were pretty weak, but I got the best positions of my career, Rautionaho expressed the mood.
Who flopped?
Hill Jumping Judges’ Council. Finland Arttu Mäkiaho had to jump into a really bad wind gap on the hill section of the combined team race. Mäkiaho’s jump was the worst of the jumpers in the opening round.
On top of that, he still had to wait a long time for his turn before the permit came.
– An absolutely incomprehensible solution from the Council of Judges now. At the beginning, they are allowed to jump into a fair headwind, Arttu is made to wait for a long time and then, however, is let into a miserable wind gap. You could certainly jump better in terms of technique, but if we wait for one time, then at the same time we will wait for the conditions for all athletes, Urheilu’s expert Petter Kukkonen would talk.
Mäkiaho himself described that after the bow it felt as if someone had hit him on the back with a baseball bat.
In the name of honesty, this did not spoil Finland’s chances of success in the team competition, where the final ranking was fifth.
Like the head coach Antti Kuisma said, “everyone can see it”, that the Finnish team’s hill jumping is not at a good enough level.
What next?
On Thursday, Finland will start the women’s 4×5 kilometer relay with a team Johanna Matintalo, Kerttu Niskanen, Eveliina Piippo and Krista Pärmäkoski.
The expectations for the race are a bit similar to last weekend’s combined races. A medal is possible, but Finland is by no means a medal favorite.
Norway and Sweden go into the competition as favourites. Finland is basically fighting for the bronze medal against the United States and Germany.
– The first two stages are quite crucial to get from good positions to the free stage. Then Eveliina Piipo has to keep up with the top countries and Krista is left with the finishing touches, Urheilu’s expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen says.
Two years ago, Pärmäkoski finished with a bronze medal worthy of the anchor section. Will the same happen again this time? You can read more predictions and skiers’ moods about the women’s message at this link.