Finnish female skiers have been struggling since the beginning of the season with normal trips. Instead, there are again Finnish expectations for Saturday’s sprint.
Joel Sippola,
Riku Salminen
The Finnish cross-country team has reason to worry after the season’s third normal distances World Cup race. For women’s normal trips, the general level is weak.
In the women’s 10 km free race in Lillehammer on Finland’s Independence Day Kerttu Niskanen was the best Finn until the 20s. Leave the winner to Therese Johaug it was two minutes.
Niskanen’s machine has warmed up slowly since the beginning of the season. In recent years, at the Tour de Ski at the turn of the year, he has already reached a winning pace.
Remember the Finns Vilma Nissinen was the 41st and Anne Kyllönen 43:s. There was a gap of more than three minutes between both of them.
Finland’s head coach Teemu Pasanen admit that the situation is not good.
– In terms of fitness factors, women have a big difference to the top on normal trips as a whole. Sprint has a level, as was seen in Ruka’s traditional. Also in free sprint Jasmi Joensuu and Jasmin Kähärä are able to fight, but on normal trips we are far away.
Pasanen believes that both Kerttu Niskanen and Kympit were absent from the race because of Linna’s celebrations Krista Pärmäkoski raise their level during the winter. Sprints are going well, at least according to Ruka, because no less than five Finnish women advanced to the top 12 there.
Joensuu was fifth as the best Finn.
– I am more worried about the athletes behind the top. The time difference to the top 10 chess is also big. It cannot be caught in an instant. Maybe our skiers are more focused on sprinting, Pasanen says about the situation of distance skiers.
1. Martin L. Nyenget NOR 22.58.8
2. Simen Hegstad Krüger NOR +4.1
3. Harald Ö. Amundsen NOR +7.8
4. Iver Andersen NOR +10.2
5. Andreas Ree NOR +10.4
6. Mattis Stenshagen NOR +38.3
7. Friedrich Moch GER +40.1
8. Einar Hedegart NOR +49.5
8. Mika Vermeulen’s AUT +49.5
10. Pål Golberg NOR +50.5
…
14. Arsi Ruuskanen FIN +57.7
15. Iivo Niskanen FIN +1.01.4
27. Remi Lindholm FIN +1.28.5
47. Lauri Lepistö FIN +2.07.9
Finnish men are good in “their own skiing world”
On a similar journey for men Arsi Ruuskanen and Iivo Niskanen were the 14th and 15th. Even though the gap between the two was more than a minute, in Pasanen’s opinion both of them performed well.
In the men’s race, it was again about Norway versus the rest of the skiing world. Vuonoma’s athletes took the six best places.
Among the skiers from other countries, Germany ranked only seventh Friedrich Moch and eighth-placed Austria Mika Vermeulen made it into the top ten.
Ruuskasen was a tolerable 17 seconds behind Mochi. Among skiers from other countries, Ruuskanen was fourth and Niskanen fifth best.
– The difference to the top is one minute, but there are only Norwegians in front. Norway’s level is wild. It’s hard for others to get there, says Pasanen.
On Saturday in Lillehammer, as far as cross-country skiing is concerned, the upcoming World Cup free sprint will be held. Pasanen believes that Rukala reached third in the traditional sprint Lauri Vuorinen can fight for a place in the final even with a weaker skiing style.
In the last World Cup season, Vuorinen twice reached the semi-finals of the free sprint.
– Free will certainly go just as well for him as traditional. Jasmi Joensuu was in good shape at Ruka and will certainly be able to continue that in a free game. Jasmin Kähärä, on the other hand, has been in the free sprint at the semi-final level, so there are expectations in that too, says Pasanen.