In the 50 km race at the World Championships in Planica, the events at the swimming pool spoke volumes. Ville Nousiainen revealed how he lost consciousness at the welding station 14 years ago.
Energy intake also plays a big role in the final 50 kilometers of the World Championships in Planica. Skiers receive a drink from the guardians during the race.
The Italian team pulled off a crazy stunt in the middle of the race, when a maintenance man threw a drink bottle to a skier in the middle of a large group of skiers.
– Sometimes the same thing has happened to myself, when I’m just on the wrong side. When there are a lot of bends, you should have just taken a booth, Urheilu’s expert Ville Nousiainen described.
Normally, skiers get their drinks from the guardians in pre-arranged areas. However, this has not always been the case. The maintenance men have been able to run next to the track to give drinks.
Ville Nousiainen talked about the crash that happened in the 2008 World Cup in Canmore, Canada. Nousiainen was hospitalized after the crash.
– The maintenance man ran outside the maintenance area with another. I assumed there was no one left. I started drinking. The rod poked and hit the eye. I lost consciousness. I had to be hospitalized, Nousiainen said.
Finland’s coach at the time Eero Hietanen reported the event 14 years ago to, among others, .
– Ville got a drink and drank, then there was a waiter in the wrong place below. Ville had a stick forward, the stick poked the man in the chest and the other end of the stick (in his hand) then hit Ville in the eye, Hietanen described.
According to Nousiainen, it’s really great that maintenance men are no longer allowed to move around the soldering point. If the skier can’t get a drink in his hand, then he can’t.
– There were probably other cases than mine, but it was quite a wild rush, Nousiainen says.
Refueling is part of a tactical thriller on the way to skiing royalty. Read here more about what kind of super performance the 50 kilometer race is in the value race.