Ivo Neck came second in the skiing World Cup in Davos in the traditional 20 km time trial. Norwegian Martin Löwstrom Hymns won the race by 13.1 seconds.
Niskanen and Nyenget were the overwhelming top two of the race. They had a close second battle. In the last lap of just over seven kilometers, the Norwegian pulled away the required gap to win.
The podium finish was Niskanen’s 23rd career in the World Cup.
– Good skiing from Iivota, but Nyenget pulled a longer cut. This was a great fight, Ville Nousiainen glowed in the newsroom.
The competition saw a French party, when Hugo Shoulder bag was surprisingly third in the competition.
Niskanen started on the track two minutes later than Nyenget. He said that he got breaks and that he knew the situation all the time.
– I try to ski according to Nyengeti’s times. On the last half of the steep climb I was able to turn the advantage around. It turned as it came down. He was able to increase the speed with an easier clip. The gentle ascent went smoothly. The only good bit I had was a steep one, Niskanen said.
Before leaving for the last lap of just over seven kilometers, Niskanen led Nyengeti by another 1.2 seconds. So Nyenget was briskly harder in the last round.
– However, there was a surprising amount of chatter. I thought I had come to the end, Niskanen said.
Niskanen about his children: “That’s after all”
Niskanen admitted that he is not satisfied with his result. He had expected better. Niskanen pointed out that the weather changed in the middle of the race when the snow stopped. However, he did not explain the outcome.
Niskanen and Nyenget were seen on TV pictures several times talking after the race. According to Niskanen, they discussed the Christmas party. The Finn is heading home from Davos.
– Both of us have children waiting. After all, he’s after me. He has one, Niskanen mumbled.
Niskanen fell in training at the beginning of the week. However, according to the Finnish skiing star, it only affected two or three days. Even then, he did not go into an explanation, but stated that the preparation had gone “practically perfectly.”
– The expectations were to hit the gas properly. Nyenget has skied well in every race this year. He won’t get off easy, Niskanen said.
At home, Niskanen plans to lighten up his training a bit. He will be there for a good week before the journey continues to the Tour de Skill.
– I hope that a little relief would bring sensitivity. I would be able to start the Tour at a good level, Niskanen said and expected “good trips” from Toblach.
The program includes a 15-kilometer joint start race and a 15-kilometer pursuit with a better way of skiing for him, i.e. traditional. In addition to that, a freestyle sprint and a 20 km race are contested in Toblach.
Hakola surprised and raved about the ham roast
The Finnish surprise of the day was Cross mat Hakola. He was ninth in the race.
– This is quite a v-shaped track. We went steadily hard. If you overdo it even a little bit, you will have to collect for a long time.
Hakola’s early season is fluctuating. Now he said that he benefited from Ireland of Thomas Maloney Westgaard and Lauri Vuorinen from skiing with. In the final results, Westgaard finished just ahead of Hakola in eighth place.
– Good training has been done. Illnesses always take away (fitness). Let’s go one day at a time. It was nice to ski. There is no better situation and landscape than now in Davos, Hakola, who has performed low-spirited since the beginning of the season, described his situation.
Hakola could not yet say anything about his future plans or competing in the Tour de Ski other than that he is staying in Davos for Christmas. He also blurted out after the interview that Perttu Hyvärinen is responsible for roasting the ham.
Hyvärinen had his World Cup debut on Sunday after an ankle injury that happened a month ago.
– Yes, that ham is fried, Hyvärinen answered Hakola’s comment in an interview with .
He was happy with his comeback race.
– I started quite moderately. Then the machines started to start just fine. I’m not terribly disappointed. We are in the game, Hyvärinen described.
– Fitness is catching up. The ankle is fine. When the ski slipped, some tape must have snapped. That scared me a bit.
Vuorinen also liked skiing with Maloney Westgaard and Hakola.
– It did come off the body, there was no breakage. Still, that speed didn’t come easily. It was good to have a pee. I was able to find the speed more easily after digging out, Vuorinen said.
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Skiing World Cup results:
Overall standings of the Skiing World Cup: