Iivo Niskanen was 13th in freestyle skiing in the 20 kilometer co-start competition. Mika Vermuelen, who is a fan of the neck and named after Mika Myllylä, had to surprise everyone instead.
Roope Visuri,
Laura Arffman
Mika Myllylän the Austrian named after Mika Vermeulen was to make quite a big surprise in Ruka in the 20-kilometer freestyle skiing together. Vermeulen drew troops, but from Norwegians Jan Thomas Janssen took the win in the final stretch.
Also the Czech Republic Michal Novak and Norway Harald Östberg Amundsen managed to overtake the Austrian even before the finish line.
Still, fourth place was the ski of a lifetime for Vermeulen. Winner-Janssen had also been at his best in the World Cup before this, sixth in 2020 in the Val di Fiemme sprint.
Urheilu visited the Vermeulen family in Ramsau a couple of years ago. At that time, the skier himself said that he was modeling himself with the traditional way of skiing.
Now on free skiing, Vermeulen beat his idol. Iivo Niskanen was 13th, beating the winner by 19.4 seconds. Niskanen didn’t get to join the 12-man group that decided the victory in the end.
Finns were in the top group Remi Lindholm. He was in the top five in the last lap, but finished 12th.
– Excellent skiing from Remi. This was the language of the workman. You have to be able to grind. Remi can grind and he is good at skiing in a group, Urheilu’s expert Jussi Piirainen rated on the TV broadcast.
Piirainen was also satisfied with Niskanen’s performance.
– I thought in advance that if Iivo comes in 10-15, it will be good skiing. That’s where Iivo came. Ivo is fine. It’s a clear thing, Piirainen stated.
Niskanen himself was also satisfied with his skiing. Only one steep section felt bad in the last three laps.
– The muscle isn’t used to it, since it hasn’t been skiing so much in the last couple of weeks, Niskanen said.
Otherwise, Niskasen was fine. When starting the last descent, the difference just got too big.
– There was a lot of appeal. Feeling better than I expected, Niskanen summed up.
Niskanen had been afraid of the joint start race in advance, and had not thought that it would be suitable on a track like Ruka.
– It wasn’t as catastrophic as I thought in advance. However, it is difficult to say about those athletes who have had to ski in weaker positions. That was tricky. Not relaxed cross-country skiing. All you know is that the last two rounds will be skied hard, Niskanen said.
Remi Lindholm was in a flying mood as usual after the race.
– Skied with Iivo close together the whole time. In the penultimate round, “Good Iivo” was no longer shouted, then “Good Remi!” was shouted. I knew that Iivo stayed. Then all I could do was hit, Lindholm described to Urheilu.
Lindholm’s frostbite increased during, for example, the Beijing Olympics. At the time of the interview, the damage caused by the frost was not yet known.
– The places are still numb. It probably starts to hurt at some point when it starts to melt, Lindholm described.
Niskanen skips Jällivaara
The World Cup of Skiing continues in Jällivaara in a week with the normal distances and relays of freestyle skiing. However, Finland’s number one star is not included.
– I’m focusing on other competitions. I’m trying to get some good oxygen. The next main goals are in Trondheim and the Tour de Ski. My gait needs to improve a bit now, Niskanen said.
Trondheim’s weekend is coming after Jällivaara and the following Östersund World Cup in mid-December. It’s the last World Cup weekend before the Tour de Ski at the turn of the year.
About Ylen’s experts Aino-Kaisa Saarinen would have liked to see Niskanen in Jällivaara.
– However, Iiivo had positive competitions in Ruka. I think today was a decent performance. It was known that Iivo is not the strictest guy on the loose.
– Jällivaara’s tracks are also better suited for Iivo in free time than Ruka’s, because Jällivaara’s is more gentle. However, Iivo is good at melting skis, Saarinen estimates.
Also Norway’s star skier Johannes Hösflot Kläbo announced according to VG that he would miss the Jällivaara World Cup. Kläbo did not reach his best in Ruka.
In Jällivaara, the program includes a 10-kilometer freestyle intermediate start and a relay.