In 2012, Marit Björgen won the same distance in no less than 17.5 minutes faster than Linn Svahn on Saturday. Urheilu’s expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen explains why.
Nove Mesto on February 11, 2012. Marit Björgen wins the 15 km traditional style mass start with a time of 39:20.
Falun January 29, 2017. The same woman takes first place with a traditional time of 41:28.
Saturday, January 6, 2024, and Sweden Linn Svahn takes the victory of the last Tour de Ski in the previous race, the 15 km mass start (p) Frida Karlsson by the nose – final time 53.49!
So Björgen skied every kilometer in Nove Mesto 2012 a little less than a minute faster than Saturday’s winner in the competition, where the final settings were made before Sunday’s Tour de Ski climax, i.e. the ascent of Alpe Cermis.
– Vesikel’s competitions were heavy and sometimes slow even with fluoride creams, but with fluoride-free creams they seem to be really slow. Just in this kind of water and sleet race, the fluor repels moisture and dirt and remains slippery and fast for a long time. Now it really looked like a parade example. We did five kilometer laps in about 18 minutes on average. A recreational skier in really good shape is able to pull that speed even on a traditional one, Urheilu’s expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen laugh.
There are enough variables
Saarinen reminds that the finish times of ski competitions should never be directly compared with each other, because there are enough different variables, starting with the weather and the difficulty of the course.
– The common denominator is always that the fittest do manage. And of course, the fluoride ban wasn’t the only thing that contributed to the slow pace. The circumstances were such that no one had anything to do with layoffs or attempts at them. The skis of the Swedes and Germans looked the best, but neither of them had any tears on the way.
According to Saarinen, the weather itself was typical of the Val di Fiemme epiphany region.
The settings of the Tour’s overall competition were not revolutionized in any way. Jessica Diggins starts the final stage culminating on the ski slope of Alpe Cermis with 43 seconds in the lead Jonna Sundlingwhich Frida Karlsson chasing a second and Kerttu Niskanen in five seconds.
Doesn’t like mass output
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen liked the old competition format much more, where the final part of the climb was followed by a chase.
– The mass start takes away from the stage the symbolic meaning it had. I think the winner of the Tour should always be the one who finishes first. Diggins is helped by this form of competition. It’s easier to watch your opponents in a group than to be chased alone. If you get too close to your own limits, you can give up a little without risking profit.
Saarinen considers Diggins’ victory to be almost heralded, as well as Niskanen’s placing on the podium of the overall competition.
– Kerttu withstands the accumulated load without squatting really well, and that is very much what Sunday is all about. He can grind. I would be quite surprised if the second and third place in the overall competition were not Kerttu and Heidi Weng (1.03 from the top), I dare not guess the order.
Weng is one of the all-time finishers in Tour history; the Norwegian has been in the top three in stage races no less than eight times and first place three times.