At the Tour de Ski, a starry sky before the first start – Aino-Kaisa Saarinen tells who you should follow now | Sport

Cross-country skiing Tour de Ski starts on Saturday 30.12. In Toblach at the sprint races. You can find the program and broadcast times at the end of this article.

The roof has fallen especially on the men’s side. When the Russians and Belarusians are out of the game due to the war of aggression started by Russia, the entire top three of the previous two years are missing from the tour.

The biggest advance favorite of the competition and the winner of the previous two overall competitions Johannes Hösflot Kläbo said on Thursday that he has not recovered from his flu. On the same day, last year’s runner-up also confirmed their absence Simen Hegstad Krüger and in others the third of the year Iivo Niskanen. Last year’s third Hans Christer Holund has ended his career.

When looking at the top three men’s Tour de Ski overall race over the past eight years, only France is now included Maurice Manificatwhich was second in 2021.

Sports expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen believes that Niskanen’s absence will reduce Finns’ interest in the tour.

– Iivo would have been the only Finnish man who would have had a chance to reach the top ten. Others have a challenging time, says Saarinen.

Kläbo’s absence brings a completely new situation to the men’s competition, as he is at best superior in all distances and skiing techniques. Now the game is completely open and surprises have a chance. However, Saarinen has his own favorite for the Tour.

– Paul Golberg has been skiing consistently hard, and so on Harald Östberg Amundsen is second in the overall World Cup race, I prefer Golberg, says Saarinen.

– Golberg has a very strong ability to climb, and in the Tour you ski a lot in a group, so then it’s about who can climb the best at the end. Golberg is a tougher guy than Amundsen.

“Maintenance is the only risk”

On the women’s side, the Norwegians have not celebrated in recent years, and last year came third Tiril Udnes Wengkin is among the sick. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen doesn’t make the Swedes favorites either, because Frida Karlsson has not been in tune with last season and Ebba Andersson fitness is a question mark after the corona.

– It’s really interesting to see how their Tour starts. Corona is such an unpredictable disease. Personally, I vote more for the Americans than for the Swedes, says Saarinen and stamps the pre-favorite to Jessie Diggins and To Rosie Brennan.

Diggins currently leads the World Cup and won the Tour in 2021. Brennan has raised his level even further this season and is currently third in the World Cup.

– They have been in really good shape, and even a small maintenance failure in Trondheim did not hinder their performance.

Saarinen has been surprised by how the small maintenance group in the United States has succeeded this season so well, downright brilliantly. The importance of maintenance is emphasized even more at the Tour de Ski.

– The only risk to the success of the Americans in the Tour is maintenance.

From Finns Kerttu Niskanen showed signs of awakening before the Christmas break, and Saarinen believes that Niskanen’s slide has now turned. Recovered from illness Krista Pärmäkoski again is currently a big question mark.

– Krista’s season starts again. However, this is an experienced athlete, so he wouldn’t go along if he had any kind of experience. I hope he is in better shape now than at the beginning of the season.

Whose black horse?

There is always room for black horses at the Tour de Ski. On the women’s side, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen offers Germany that role Victoria to Carl, who is in fifth place in the World Cup and who won the first World Cup competition of his career in Trondheim. Saarinen believes that Carl got an additional boost from this.

– In the case of Carlink, both the athlete and the German maintenance team have caught success by the tail. When we go to Central Europe, it can open the door to even better things for them, because they know those conditions better than the Nordics.

On the men’s side, it is much more difficult to name the black horse, because the game is really open.

– Calle Halfvarsson has missed from time to time, but he has had corona. There have been French, but they have been more on the sprint side. There have been Americans trying…, Saarinen thinks and finally ends up giving the Brit a chance.

– Andrew Musgrave has been on the rise and has always been good in Davos.

If the male sprinters are to be successful in the Tour, they need to break up the pack and have a large lead before the final stage up Alpe Cermis. Musgrave has not often been successful in sprints, but he is helped a little by the fact that both sprints in the Tour are skied in free skiing.

– Musgrave should be able to gain seconds from the sprints, because he is good at climbing. I hope he surprises. It would be insane to get a Brit on top!

Urheilu follows the Tour de Ski moment by moment on its website. Below you can see the program and broadcast times in more detail.