An incredible day for Finns! Kerttu Niskanen wins, Johanna Matintalo second – yesterday’s ski problems are history | Sport

Kerttu Niskanen took his third World Cup win of the season when he skied first in the 10 km traditional race in Falun. Johanna Matintalo rounded off Finland’s day with second place.

Kerttu Niskanen took an overwhelming victory in the Falun World Cup 10 km race. Johanna Matintalo tensed at the finish line when a teammate crossed the finish line and dropped him to second. However, the second place is the best achievement of his career.

– This is a great day, Kerttu Niskanen stated in an interview with Urheilu.

Niskanen said that he was confident when he saw that today is holding weather. It has suited him well in the past as well, because during the season he has skied three times with grip soles in the competition.

– The skis worked well, and the weather made this even tougher, Niskanen gushed, before leaving for the award ceremony.

After the prize distribution, Niskanen had time to chew on the competition in more detail. He said that he started briskly because he wanted to keep himself tight in the last traditional race. Niskanen succeeded in that, even though the conditions made it difficult to go.

– The snow got on the glasses, so it was difficult to see the bends and hills. You had to be careful at the end, but everything went according to plan, he said.

– Maintenance did a good job today. You can see it in the results as well.

Niskanen wanted to win the last traditional race of the season. He heard a lot of breaks during the race, but many early favorites started the race after him.

– I didn’t really want to hear about the intervals, I just tried to ski my own skiing.

Johanna Matintalo was very excited at the finish when she found out that she is at least second in the race.

– I’m even a little surprised. I left with a small number and thought that someone would pass by, Matintalo said.

Only in the last round did he realize that he was high in the race.

– For the last sprint climb (coach) Ville Oksanen shouted that now you are really fighting for the podium in the whole race, that now there must be a good ending. When you look at the results, I think I will implement it.

The difference between Niskanen and Matintalo was only 4.2 seconds at the finish line. It left Matintalo hungry for the upcoming games. Skied Sweden in third place Jonna Sundling left Niskas by 10 seconds.

This season, Niskanen has already celebrated the victory of the World Cup competition twice before. He was first in the 20-kilometer traditional cross-country pursuit race in Davos and in the 10-kilometer traditional race in Toblach. Before today, Niskanen had been on the podium five times this season. In addition to this, he finished third at the Tour de Ski.

Before Falun, Matintalo’s best personal ranking this season was Lahti’s fifth place in the 20 kilometer traditional race. In addition to this, he was second in the Lahti pair sprint Krista Pärmäkoski with and third in Oberhof’s relay. Before this, Matintalo has achieved two third places in the traditional sprint.

The last time Finnish skiers won the World Cup twice was on New Year’s Eve in 2008. At that time Virpi Kuitunen (now Sarasvuo) won the 10 kilometer traditional race in Nove Mesto and Aino-Kaisa Saarinen was another.

– This turned out to be a great women’s day, but the men still have a race ahead of them. Let’s hope that the same trend will continue there, said Krista Pärmäkoski, who finished ninth.

This season, Finnish women have achieved eight individual prize positions, as well as one pair sprint and one relay prize place. Width has also been found in the Finnish team, as no less than six skiers have reached the prize place this winter.