“Next season’s goal is to stabilize the basic level to a top 10 speed in the World Cup, which would mean a return to podium battles on good days.”
The quote in question is Anne Kyllönen from the Facebook update he wrote in April, in which the skier didn’t hold a candle under the bushel when outlining his goals for the next winter.
Kyllönen’s update received a lot of attention not only in the domestic media but also among skiing enthusiasts. And not a swamp. It’s not everyday that the 35-year-old skier, whose previous personal podium finish from the World Cup dates back to January 2017, states his goals so directly.
Seven months later, Kyllönen still stands by his words.
– Of course, you have to go one step at a time and achieve certain positions that the podium is realistic. However, I was able to ski into my twenties last season and achieved nine individual World Cup podiums in my career. That’s why I have to dare to say out loud that I’m aiming for the podium.
– It motivates me to go for a run and do things as I please. Standing on the podium at the World Cup is such a great feeling that I want to experience it again, says Kyllönen.
Kyllönen admits that he was surprised by the flood of feedback that followed the Facebook update.
– Those who follow skiing have come to say a lot about it face-to-face or have given feedback via social media. It’s nice that the update sparked discussion and interest in people, but I didn’t think it would stir up so much emotion.
Not in top condition yet
The Cup season starts in Ruka on Friday, when it’s the sprint with traditional skiing. Kyllönen names it his main trip of the weekend.
On Saturday, a 10-kilometer traditional intermediate start and a 20-kilometer joint start in freestyle skiing will be skied in Koilsmaa.
According to Kyllönen, the skiing community shouldn’t wait for him to realize his goals right before the start of the cup season. Ruka’s short but steep ascents are a challenge for Kyllöne, whose ascents are long and gentle.
– On traditional trips, you should be able to ski in the 20s. If I’m in 20 sacks on the free, then that’s already a good performance for me on that terrain.
– However, speed and sensitivity are in good shape in skiing, which promises a good sprint. I need hard races so that my race condition goes forward. For the beginning of the season, I give myself a little mercy, because I’ve never been in top shape in November. I’ve usually been able to raise my level clearly going towards the Tour de Ski.
A nasty surprise in the tests
Kyllönen says that he approached the competition season with a training program that differed significantly from previous years.
– I made some pretty big changes to my training. I left out all competitions and really hard intensity training in the summer and went through a lot of aerobic and moderate intensity training.
There is always a risk in change, and this time it materialized for Kyllönen. At the end of August, the tests carried out at the Research Center for Racing and Elite Sports at KiHU revealed that Kyllönen’s body had not reacted to the modification of the training program as hoped.
– I was really frustrated. I had done the planned things well, but then the test results did not support the work done. Visiting KiHU was a turning point. After that, the training had to be lightened and the aerobic aspect emphasized. Power training became more of an interval type, says Kyllönen.
The turnaround soon yielded results. Kyllönen, who has been training without a personal coach for years, gives praise to the head coach of the women’s national team this season To Ville Maunusela.
– He has been a really important support. Ville came along to the Levin camp and made sure that the training remained under control. Through individual successful power exercises, the feeling strengthened that I am heading in the right direction again.
– When everything goes well, coaching yourself is really easy and nice, but alone you don’t necessarily always notice the mistakes you make, Kyllönen admits.
Favorite race to the podium?
Since the upcoming season does not include value races, for the vast majority of skiers the Tour de Ski at the turn of the year is the main event of the season.
– I will be satisfied if I find myself in the top ten on the final climb of the Tour. After that, I hope there will be even more top 10 rankings.
If Kyllönen stays healthy until February, he will name the World Cup competition where he believes he will be on pace for the podium.
– I have always skied well in Canmore. There is a 20-kilometer joint start in February. If everything fell into place somewhere, it would be great to be there, in Canada, says Kyllönen, who has skied four times in the top five and twice on the podium.
Enough fire for now
Kainuun Ski Club’s No. 1 player says that he has not made any far-reaching decisions in terms of continuing his career. For example, the Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics in February 2026 are not yet in mind.
– I have decided to continue as long as I feel a burning passion for sports. It is currently available. I plan every hour of the day and everything I do, so that the result would be the best possible, Kyllönen says.
He says that talking about goals in public has not brought pressure on results.
– I have such a memory that I said in Ruka in 2012 that my goal was to ski on the podium during the season. At that time I didn’t have a single podium in the Cup yet, and even then I was told that the goal was not realistic.
In the following months, Kyllönen made it to the podium four times.
– During my career, I have encountered a certain kind of belittling or questioning of my goals quite often.
– You never know in any other matter in life, whether you will achieve something or not. But when you work for them, only then will you see if something is possible or not.