‘s expert Ville Nousiainen wanted Jasmi Joensuu to invest in nordic skiing. Joensuu explained the problem with the Norwegian star Lotta Udnes Weng.
Roope Visuri,
Laura Arffman
14.12. 20:07•Updated 14.12. 20:29
The Skiing World Cup culminates on Sunday in Davos with the traditional 20-kilometer intermediate races. You can find everything about the Urheilustudio weekend here.
Jasmine Joensuu finished fifth in the freestyle sprint at the Davos World Cup. Joensuu fought for the podium place, but in the last corner the fight for the podium was interrupted. Norwegian Mathilde Myhrvold, Julie Myrtle and Lotta Udnes Weng came by. Swedish Jonna Sundling was in a class of his own and took an overwhelming victory.
Joensuu went to the final last in the time trial. He was fourth in the first semi-final.
– Jasmi fought really well. He froze in the semi-final stage and rallied for the final. Jasmi must have had a bit of a pass in the first lap, in order to keep the bangs until the last 50 meters. Jasmi was able to keep his place, but the final stretch and the last corner were very bad, Urheilu’s expert Ville Nousiainen evaluate fresh in the newsroom.
– Jasmi remained a passenger and wobbled on his skis. A big investment in that. He will then be able to grab podium places. That’s what it’s been about all along.
Joensuu already had trouble in the final turns in the Davos semifinals. Joensuu explained the situation to Urheilu Norway Lotta Udnes With Weng. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, according to Joensuu, Weng had broken his pole. Even in the semi-final, the two fell
– In the semi-final, my stick was between his legs. I got the idea that now the stick will not be broken. With Lota, we have been in close situations many times. We were today too. I don’t know why that is. Fortunately, the pieces remained intact, Joensuu described in an interview with Urheilu.
A rare podium finish nearby
If Joensuu had reached the podium, it would have been very rare. The last time a Finnish woman was on the podium in a freestyle sprint at the World Cup was in Davos in 2009. Then it was answered Aino-Kaisa Saarinen.
Joensuu was now free skiing for the second time in the sprint final. With traditional skiing, he has been in the final three times. The last time he was free skiing was in the sprint final in Lahti last March.
– In the semi-finals, you just had to grill Jonna. Then I got to the next one in time. I had a good feeling heading into the final. The last corner was a bit bad. If the podium waits for the World Championships or the Olympics, then we’ll take it from there, Joensuu stated.
In terms of Finns, the total effort in the free pair sprint was weak. Only about women Katri Lylynperä reached the draw with Joensuu. They appeared in the men’s heats Lauri Mountainous and Nile Moilanen. All three other Finns in the heats were left in the heats. The others were already eliminated after qualifying.
Joensuu’s early season has been successful. Now he came third in the sprint cup.
– I have never had such a good time at a high altitude. Four years in Denver is now paying off, Joensuu quipped, referring to Davos’ location more than 1,500 meters above sea level and his university years in North America.
– That third place is really sweet. It’s nice that the hard work is starting to pay off, so to speak.
To Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, the statistical fact sounded bad
Like Ville Nousiainen Aino-Kaisa Saarinen paid attention to Joensuu skiing instead of Lotta Udnes Weng. He saw that Joensuu’s pelvis began to sink back when starting the final descent. Saarinen considers this typical of Joensuu, when the load increases. At that time, the pace also slows down.
– This did not resolve the collision with Lota, but it was a very good day of competition from Jasmi, Saarinen stated.
The statistical fact about Finnish women’s 15 years without a podium sounded bad to Saarinen’s ears.
– It would be high time for someone to take the podium. Now we were already close. I can’t say why there is no success in the free sprint. When someone would find a philosopher’s stone, Saarinen was amazed.
Saarinen, a 15-time value race medalist, found success in free skiing even more in sprints than in normal trips.
– This has become the worst trip for the Finns, Saarinen also underlined for the trip competing in the World Championships in February–March.
Saarinen would have favored more Finns than four to the group stage, i.e. to the top 30 in Davos.
– More should have been able to get to the draw stage. The average value was slightly below freezing, Saarinen underlined.
Skiing World Cup results:
Updated at 8:30 p.m. Added Aino-Kaisa Saarinen’s comments.