BAY. The handkerchief got in the way Iivo Niskanen battle for victory in the Salpausselkä World Cup. An absurd sounding sentence, but this is what happened.
Niskasen had a piece of paper stuck to the rail on the right side of the Teivaa climb in the second round of the 20-kilometer joint start race.
– Pushed hard and didn’t go away. I don’t know where it had come from. It was a bit cheesy. It was a little disappointing, Niskanen described in ‘s TV interview.
Later, in front of the Finnish media, Niskanen specified that it was a handkerchief of some kind.
– Yes, I felt it. A small piece was still attached to the finish, Niskanen stated.
In the same breath, however, Niskanen stated that in the last round it didn’t affect that much anymore.
Niskanen finished ninth. Seven skiers passed at the end.
– It was a bad performance even for a slow man, Niskanen said.
– There shouldn’t be so many men passing by. The fight for the positions went to hell.
Sports expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen was on the same lines as Niskanen. In his opinion, Iivota showed really bad skiing tactically.
– Iivo had really bad fits. He let many athletes pass from the inside. That shouldn’t happen, Saarinen said.
According to Saarinen, Niskanen did do his best in the fight for victory.
– He just didn’t get help from others, Saarinen stated.
A concise wish from Niskas for next season
Niskanen missed the World Cup in Falun last weekend because of the flu. He entered the race through one quality practice.
According to Niskanen, second place on Sunday would have been possible if he had stayed with Norway, who won the race Johannes Hösflot Kläbon riding at the end.
– It was nice to ski for the pace. After a break from the flu, I was able to do a good job. Of course, the investment is not what I wanted, Niskanen stated.
Niskanen went without a win this season. After the breakthrough of the Olympic winning season in Sochi, this has only happened in the 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 seasons. Of course, the latter was messed up by the corona pandemic.
Niskanen got sick with corona just before the opening of the World Cup season in Ruka. After that, the opening of the season was extended to the Tour de Skille, where the traditional intermediate start was left unfinished after 600 meters.
Niskanen finished sixth at the World Championships in Planica. At that time, the Finn set his tactics for the final race.
– There could be so much change for next season that one kroner less would remain, Niskanen threw a hearty wish for next season.
Kläbo gave a strong assessment of Lahti – praised Niska for his help
Kläbo had time to ventilate at the finish line and had time to make the most of the final race of the season. The Norwegian superstar took no fewer than 20 World Cup victories this season. Kläbo pages Therese Johaugin single season winning record.
– If I had said this before the start of the season, I would never have believed it, Kläbo stated.
Kläbo was satisfied with the final race of the season, as it was the Norwegian’s fifth race in seven days.
– It felt really good. I had good skis. I gave it my all in the last round. I wasn’t happy with the pace in the first two laps. I tried to pick up the pace on the last one. In between, Iivo helped and kept the pace in the third lap, Kläbo stated.
For Finns, the season is remembered for numerous crashes both in the World Cup and the World Championships. Upon request, Kläbo had a simple tip for Finns.
– I grew up practicing a lot of calculation in ski boots. I did it a lot when I was young and practiced balance. Just practice, as simple as that, Kläbo stated.
Lahti has been a successful place for Kläbo. Kläbo has competed in Lahti 17 times. Only four times has he missed the podium.
– I really enjoyed Lahti. It’s really great that there are so many people around the tracks here. This is certainly one of the best competition places in the whole season, Kläbo describes.
Men’s 20 km (p) / Joint start, Lahti
1) Johannes Hösflot Kläbo Norway 44.13.0
2) Pål Golberg Norway -5.4
3) William Poromaa Sweden -6.0
4) Mikael Gunnulfsen Norway -6.7
5) Simen Hegstad Krüger Norway -7.9
6) Harald Östberg Amundsen Norway -8.1
7) Didrik Tönseth Norway -8.2
8) Antoine Cyr Canada -8.4
9) Iivo Niskanen Finland -8.6
10) Andrew Musgrave Britain -8.9
12) Ristomatti Hakola -29.8,
13) Perttu Hyvärinen -30.8,
15) Remi Lindholm -37.0,
16) Markus Vuorela -38.2
24) Ville Ahonen -1.34.8
25) Lauri Lepistö -1.36.9
30) Niko Anttola -1.54.5
49) Eero Rantala -3.01,1,
54) Miro Karppanen -3.41,3
56) Juuso Haarala -3.43.1
61) Joonas Sarkkinen -4.13,9.