Petter Northug presented a wild fact about Perttu Hyvärinen’s amazing victory – disappointed with the Norwegians | Sport

Norwegian skiing icon Petter Northug was not upset by the break of the Norwegians’ long winning streak, he enjoyed it.

TOBLACH.

Perttu Hyvärinen with his victory on the first regular stage of the Tour de Ski, he broke the wild streak of the Norwegians.

The last time someone other than a Norwegian man celebrated a victory on a normal trip in Salpauselä was in February 2022. At that time, it was Hyvärinen’s teammate Iivo Niskanen.

Working as an expert for Norwegian TV2 at the Tour de Ski Petter Northug brought this fact up to Urheilu when commenting on Hyvärinen’s victory in the traditional skiing ten kilometer race.

– Finally someone other than a Norwegian winner on a normal route. I’m happy about that. Congratulations to Finland and congratulations to Hyvärinen, Northug said.

Hyvärinen’s victory certainly struck a chord with everyone in Toblach and on the sofas at home. The Norwegian legend, two-time Olympic champion and 13-time world champion, also admitted that he was surprised by the Finnish sensation.

– Hyvärinen was not my winning candidate. However, we like surprises from the remnants of Norwegian dominance. This is a good thing for cross-country skiing, Northug described.

All in all, New Year’s Eve in Toblahci was quite a Finnish holiday when Kerttu Niskanen was number one among women in the traditional ten.

– It’s great that Kerttu Niskanen is back. He had difficulties in the beginning of the season, but now came a victory. We no longer remember what happened from the beginning of the season, Northug stated.

More difficult than normal in Norway

However, the contribution of Norway, which dominated cross-country skiing, was surprisingly quiet. Erik Valnes and Harald Östberg Amundsen of course the other podium finishers behind Hyvärinen took, but they too lost more than 15 seconds to the Finnish winner. In addition to Valnes and Amundsen, he reached the top ten Martin Löwström Nyenget, who was eighth.

In Ruka in November, Nyenget still won the traditional kimpist and defeated Iivo Niskanen in a close fight.

Friday also saw a rare podium without Norwegians in the sprint.

Petter Northug still holds the Tour’s stage win record. During his career, he has won a single race 13 times at the Tour de Ski. There is one overall competition win, from 2015.

Northug wonders about the Norwegian men’s overall effort at the start of this year’s Tour.

– It could be about fitness, height or preparation. We also know that athletes have been sick at Christmas time. It’s hard to say one thing. However, it is disappointing that we have not performed better, Northug reflected.

The Tour de Ski continues on Monday with the 20 kilometer (v) pursuit race. The men’s race starts at 11 a.m., the women’s at 1:30 p.m. follows Tour in this article.