The men’s 50-kilometer final trip is generally considered to be a royal trip, with only two Finns leaving for this contract. The head coach expects a raw endurance race from this.
ZHANGJIAKOU. On Saturday, the men’s kingship, a 50-kilometer free start, will be held at the Beijing Olympics. There are only two representatives from Finland for this trip, Perttu Hyvärinen and Remi Lindholm.
Head coach Teemu Pasanen did not miss out on the situation, but noted in advance skiers that the quota had caused this problem.
– Some have worked here and we would have had people who could have skied. Due to the quota, we have six men here, and there are no special men here, Pasanen said and admitted:
– There are no such special men in Finland for this trip either. More of these skiers would be needed for years to come.
Sports Expert Jussi Piirainen recalls that the situation is by no means new. Finland has rarely got a full crew in the 50-kilometer race in value races, especially in free skiing.
– Especially now that the land quotas were so small, Finland only had to bring here four skiers for normal trips and Ristomatti Hakola was still a convalescent and not clearly in the condition that he could have skied for free, Piirainen reminded.
Long-distance skiing is very rare in the free-skiing way, as skiing is more often done in the traditional way.
– At the Olympics, free fifties are skied once every eight years and at the World Championships every two or three years. It is downright frustrating to specialize in it, Piirainen said.
Coming to a raw endurance race
An extremely heavy race is expected for the men’s final trip. If the Lahti World Championships were skied in the fastest fifties – Canada Alex Harveyn the payout was 1.46.28.9 – more than two hours of recovery is now expected.
– It will be quite different from Lahti, where there was ice, the average speed was 30 kilometers per hour. Now there is a different extreme pace, Pasanen estimates.
– The raw endurance race is coming. But there is certainly a willingness to keep up with the value race and there are skiers out there who want to keep up.
Pre-favorites include Norwegian and Russian skiers. Among others, Norway Simen Hegstad Krüger gets to start the final trip fresh, as he had to watch the start of the race from the sidelines due to a corona infection.
– Krüger, Hans Christer Holund and Sjur Röthe are good freestyle skiers, they will certainly cope. Denis Spitsov, Alexander Bolshunov and Artyom Maltsev have kept up the pace. Johannes Hösflot Kläbon The features aren’t at their best around the heavy track, but it’s such a wonder guy that you never know what’s going on, Piirainen estimates.
The 50-kilometer race will be run on an 8.3-kilometer track that has not yet been used in these races. The official length of the track is 8,460 meters, its highest point is at an altitude of 1,721 meters and the height difference is 82 meters.
– In previous value competitions, there have been really fast and even undersized tracks in slippery weather. Now skiing is high, in really slow weather and on an oversized piste. There will be a long and raw competition. I don’t think it will be left to the final gesture alone, Piirainen estimates.
– And surely this race will see exhaustions.
Ruka had a cold ear, how about Hyvärinen’s fingers?
Perttu Hyvärinen has skied two successful races at the Beijing Olympics, a combined race and a 15-kilometer traditional ski race. After a disappointing message, he wondered for a long time if he would go to the final race at all.
– The raw weather was one of the reasons why I wrestled a lot with it, do I even dare to go on this trip. I am in the best condition of my life and I hope I will not ruin the rest of the season here, Hyvärinen told Sport.
Hyvärinen chilled his ears at the Ruka World Cup, but now he is afraid for his fingers.
– When you receive water and the liquid spills out of the bottle, your fingers get wet. Trying to get your fingers to the finish line from the race as well. May be a little cold.
Getting enough energy is its own challenge along the way, especially when cold weather rarely makes you thirsty. Hyvärinen has been refueling for Saturday’s race for a long time, but says he will focus on getting energy right from the start of the race.
The tactics cannot be thought out in advance in the joint start, but Hyvärinen believes that the balance of power will be visible in the first round. It is not worth dropping out of the bow group, as it is difficult to get back there.
– That state of mind fluctuates quite a bit according to the energy level. It will definitely be a tight wrestling with itself and there will definitely be tired men involved. I’m leaving for this trip purely as a challenger, because I don’t even have a Finnish Championship medal for this trip, Hyvärinen laughed.
Lindholm is ready to suffer
Remi Lindholm, who skis in the first adult championships of his career, is known for his long and hard workouts, so 50 kilometers is like made for him. Lindholm, who has already competed in both the combined race and the 15-kilometer traditional race, says he is ready.
– Let’s suffer. So far there have been nice races, now you should feel a little bad, Lindholm told Sport.
The 24-year-old skier has no experience of value competitions on this trip, and Lindholm recalls that he hasn’t skied this very many times at the World Championships either. Therefore, he does not take the pressure to do the result.
– You have to try to leave sensibly, however, when it has six laps on that 8.3 kilometer track. There is a lot of uphill and hoarfrost and slow weather. It requires sensible skiing and maybe a little passing in the beginning, Lindholm pondering the future.
– The back will certainly meet towards the end. It is only from the middle of the race onwards that ski race is just beginning. Then you have to shut your head off and fight as hard as you can.