Cross-country skier Eveliina Piippo by agreement, he missed the opening of the World Cup in Ruka at the turn of last week and valued the Lillehammer competition more highly, because he is competing in Norway at a more suitable distance, the 10 km freestyle intermediate start race.
Piippo opened his season with the Olos hang more than a couple of weeks ago, on November 13, when he finished sixth in the 10 km (v) FIS race. He lost to Germany, who won the race Victoria to Carl 40.5 seconds.
At the same start Kerttu Niskanen was second (+ 21.0) and Krista Pärmäkoski Fifth (+ 31.5). A year ago, Piippo was 12th in the same competition.
During the training season, there have been rumors that Piipo is doing well in training.
– It will probably be resolved on Friday. In terms of endurance, at least I’m in good shape, but cross-country skiing isn’t in the 80s anymore, so I can’t say how that correlates to ski speed. You have to have speed and speed characteristics, Piippo explains when endurance alone is no longer enough.
Considered a top prospect, Piippo, 24, is a familiar name to many Finnish skiing followers, but in recent years he has disappeared from the spotlight.
Suffering from difficulties, Piippo is trying to get back to the top with the help of a new coach.
Friday 2.12. at 12.00 Women’s 10 km (v), split start
Friday 2.12. at 1:45 p.m. Men’s 10 km (v), intermediate start
Sat 3.12. at 10:30 N and M sprint qualifiers
Sat 3.12. at 1:30 p.m. N and M sprint heats
Sun 4.12. at 11:45 a.m. women’s 20 km (p) joint start
Sun 4.12. at 14:00 men’s 20 km (p) joint start
Santeri Erolaalso a cross-country skier Remi Lindholm whipping pilot, is currently Eveliina Piipo’s coach.
– In Otepää’s Scandinavian Cup on February 11-12, 2022, the collaboration seems to have already started when Santtu was interested in how I’ve been training.
– In May, I was thinking about who would be the kind of coach who would let me train a lot. I know Remi (Lindholm) quite well and I know how he trains, that’s why I got excited. So far, at least, I have been satisfied with my choice, Piippo rejoices.
They say that success in skiing does not depend on the amount of training.
– There are minutes in the bank, Piippo smiles broadly.
Piippo benefits from FIS reforms
The international skiing federation FIS renewed the World Cup competition distances for this season. In the future, both men and women will compete in the World Cup over distances of the same length.
Split starts, joint starts and chases will be 10 or 20 kilometers long in the future. Piippo already longed for longer trips 4–5 years ago.
– When the endurance features are in order, this should favor me. Now you can sometimes ski 20 kilometers. The innovations favor distance women and sprint men.
– Was it an equal and fair reform for everyone, when many other trips were eliminated at the same time. Maybe I shouldn’t take this idea so deep either, laughs Piippo.
At the World Championships in Planica, 22.2.–5.3. In 2023, however, we will still be competing on the old distances, i.e. 10 and 15 km intermediate starts, 15 and 30 km skiathlon and 30 and 50 km joint start.
Media pressure from the under-23 World Cup silver
The 2019 under-23 World Cup silver and successes in the World Cup relay secured Piipo a place in the A national team for the seasons 2019–2021. Piippo was not able to get himself the first World Cup point in that period.
Because of this, Piippo could not fit into the A or B national teams of the Ski Association in the 2021–2022 season.
– It’s been quite a different journey from what I expected back then in 2019. This, on the other hand, is just life, and rarely does it go so straightforward.
– Mutkia has been on the road, as everyone probably knows, he refers, for example, to a back operation in January 2021, in which a disc bulge that hindered skiing was removed.
Piippo expects more bends and potholes to still lie ahead.
– I wish I could receive them a little more elegantly. That you wouldn’t have to learn everything the hard way when the next challenge comes up.
Media pressure and shitstorm
In his twenties, Piipo was given the title of super promise by the media. It brought pressure that started to bother me in everyday life. The skier still did not want to point a finger in the direction of the press.
– The athlete’s own actions are the ones that affect what the attention is focused on. That is, how much you give of yourself. On the other hand, I’m probably a good example of how to get rid of attention if you want it.
Piippo reminds us that the athlete is ultimately the one who puts the most pressure and demands the most from himself.
– Terms like “really promising” or “savior of the future” are not the ones that would have caused the shitstorm that has been here in recent years.
– It’s been an interesting time, especially when I fell out of the league’s groups. In the end, there were quite a few of those people around me and I was able to rebuild my identity as a person.
– Sports was a separate thing there, when there wasn’t the same media pressure around. It was no longer present in everyday life, explains Piippo.
Denver’s studies on hold
The 24-year-old skier has attended school in the US, in the capital of the state of Colorado, since January 2020, when he started studying biochemistry at university. In Denver, the training grounds are located 1,700 meters above sea level.
Originally, Piipo was supposed to graduate in 2023, but according to the skier, the studies are now on hiatus and, as it were, looking for their “shape”.
At the moment, he lives in Pirkkala, but was also in Vuokatti as much during the training season.
– As long as I can practice this much, my head will remain reasonably clear.
Piippo frankly admits that at one time it was a conscious choice for him to move to Denver and step aside from the domestic spotlight.
– Now it is not only related to the fact that the direction has been lost, but I also wanted peace. I feel that it has been nice to be able to be just “Eve” and enjoy skiing, even though I have been training professionally all the time.
Sitting in the spotlight is still not to the skier’s taste. At least not in the interview, when he was asked about it.
– V….yeah.
Story edited 2.12: Corrected that Piippo did not fit in the B national skiing team in the 2021-22 season. Piippo is currently in the B national team.