A harsh sight at the starting line of the WC – Ristomatti Hakola proposes a solution from Norway | Sport

Ristomatti Hakola, who has competed sparingly since the beginning of the season, plans to ski all the distances in the Imatra Championship.

will show Imatra’s WC skiing on 10.–12.1. on its channels. The broadcast of Friday’s pair prints starts at 1:45 PM on TV2.

The first cross-country skiing Finnish championships of the season will be decided this weekend in Imatra, and now the SM medal can come off more easily than usual.

The Tour de Ski, which ended on Sunday, and illnesses are visible on the start lists of the SC Games, as a large part of the national team women and men skip the weekend ski races.

Also absent are those who suffered from illnesses before the Tour Iivo Niskanen and Perttu Hyvärinen.

No one who has competed in the Tour will start in Imatra, at least in the 10 km traditional or 20 km combined race. The teams for Friday’s pair sprint will be announced on Thursday evening.

Another date?

National team skier Cross mat Hakola instead, see you on the line. According to him, the participant situation is unfortunate, but dictated by necessity. There are a limited number of weekends, and there are many races.

– Of course, it would be great if everyone was there at the World Championships and that they were competitions worthy of the World Championships, but the calendar is the way it is, and there’s nothing we can do about it, says Hakola.

– Yes, there are still enough people there, good competitions can be held and you can compare the results. They are visited by who is there.

According to Hakola, another date for the WC could have been better.

– I’m such a small factor that I probably don’t have much of a say in this planning, but maybe the WC could have been held at the same time as the Norwegians.

The first fjord championships will be contested a little later than Finland, on the 15th–19th. January, when the recovery time after a Tour, for example, is longer. In the same week, we compete in the World Cup in Les Rousses, France.

A simple thing

Hakola is looking for a new lift for his season at Imatra. The Finnish star has only had time to compete in the World Cup this season in Ruka and Davos, where she was ninth in the 20 km traditional race in mid-December.

After that, Hakola skipped the Tour de Ski to focus on training and avoid getting sick. Hakola triumphantly returned to the track at the FIS Championships in Tampere last weekend. The condition is still a mystery.

– It’s hard to say. It can only be seen when the clock is started. It’s been going pretty well here and there. Training tastes good. Housework is in order, and snow is a great element.

Hakola, who got engaged on Independence Day, has signed up for all trips with Imatra.

– Let’s ski from the start to the finish at full speed and see how long it takes. This is a simple job for simple men. Probably then to the World Cup in France the following weekend, and we’ll ski from start to finish again, until April.