Eero Rantala the name has been popping up in the conversations of “skiers” for some time. The 20-year-old promise is known as a hard pusher, and his breakthrough to the national top has been eagerly awaited.
Rantala has already managed to fulfill expectations, at least little by little. For example, last season he won bronze in the traditional skiing sprint at the Junior World Championships in Canada, and he also celebrated in Tampere Emil Liekarin together with the pair sprint SM bronze and in September he won the Finnish sprint championship in roller skiing in Vuokatti.
Rantala was also in good positions in the sprint of the Vuokatti Finnish Cup on Saturday towards the end of the final, but he was cramped into too small a space while fighting Lauri Lepistön with the prize places and crashed.
Sports expert Jussi Piirainen it was a pity that Rantala didn’t get to show his strong finish. He considers Rantala, a member of the under-23 national team, to be a really potential skier who has reached high speeds already at a young age.
– In particular, his draw is already so strong that he can do well in the men’s series, especially over short distances. There is a lot of speed capacity there, says Piirainen.
Unfathomable traction exercises
Rantala’s deadlift and upper body capacity have attracted admiration, but he has had to invest in this area even when forced to do so. Rantala has suffered from leg problems for many years. Among other things, last spring when he was in the army, he broke the external fibula in his right ankle, and he later got a pre-stress fracture in his other leg. The winter before that, Rantala’s season ended already in December.
Rantala has become familiar with the traction device, which is popular with skiers and strengthens the upper body and flat thrust. He has used it indoors for unimaginable amounts of training, from four to four and a half hours, and has earned the nickname DP host (double poling = equal push) with it in national team circles.
– Eero is good at training. Through traction training, pushing has developed a lot. He is currently one of the best in Finland, Jussi Piirainen assures.
– Above all, his speed capacity produces high outputs. He can challenge any of the domestic skiers, especially on shorter distances. Yes, every skier from the A national team has to be tight with him there.
No equalization in training amounts
Eero Rantala skied for the first time in the World Cup two years ago in the Ruka sprint. Last spring, he was able to ski both sprint and normal distance in Lahti. The points haven’t been released yet, but last spring’s 20-kilometer traditional cross-country start race resulted in 49th place. The difference to the winner Johannes Hösflot to Kläbo was about three minutes.
According to Piirainen, Rantala has natural speed and endurance, which is currently enough at least for the sprint side. So far, the traditional is a better and more reliable technique for Rantala, but in the sprint he goes hard with both techniques.
– His endurance characteristics have been developing all the time, also with regard to normal trips. He’s got talent, and you can’t say he’s just a sprinter.
Although the injuries have slowed down Rantala’s development in terms of legs, he has not given the others an equalization in the amount of training. The military service that ended last summer was also successful and did not slow Rantala down. At the autumn camp in Ramsau, he clocked his new downhill record.
– Eero is competitive by nature, but he has a suitably relaxed approach to it. He is very analytical and inquisitive, Piirainen estimates.
– I think it is important that the athlete is interested in developing himself. He knows how to do it in a reasonable way and even with a suitably relaxed attitude.
An important addition to the Vuokatti Ski Team
The promising skier from Hamina represented his breeding club Vehkalahti Veikko for a long time, but changed to Vuokatti Ski Team Kainuu last summer. Rantala has lived and studied in Vuokatti for longer, so the transition was natural.
In Piirainen’s opinion, the change was reasonable in that Rantala now gets to ski messages more and at a harder level in the Finnish Cup and SC competitions.
– However, Vuokatti always has a team that has a chance to do well, Piirainen states.
– A skier of such a hard level is an important addition to Vuokatti. However, he would be a reinforcement for any team.
The Vuokatti skiing Suomen Cup messages will be followed on ‘s website, TV2 and Areena starting at 11:55 a.m.