In the men’s cross-country skiing world cup, the Norwegian men went on a Christmas break. A sixth win and seven Norwegians among the 10 was a convincing performance in a competition where Arsi Ruuskanen redeemed her potential.
Pertti Lappalainen,
Kimmo Porttila
19:01•Updated 19:13
The Norwegians celebrate in the Davos men’s 20 km free time trial at the Skiing World Cup. The last race before the Christmas break was won Simen Hegstad Krüger before Hans-Christer Holundia mixed Sjur Röthe.
The Suomalaisitta competition offered two big successes when the 23-year-old Arsi Ruuskanen was eighth and Remi Lindholm 11:s. Young Ruuskanen skied among the world’s best, because so far the man’s best ranking in the World Cup was 32nd. Getting to the leader’s chair after crossing the finish line made the endurance ace from Siilinjärve smile.
– Those were nice minutes. I haven’t sat here before, but I’m sure I won’t get tired of it, Ruuskanen mused in an interview with .
Ruuskanen’s skiing was under control, as the man was able to knock out really smooth laps. The man himself stated that the performance was tactically successful.
– Going to the top 3 skis of my life. The ski worked well, the flow was good and it hit good pees, judged last winter’s junior world champion.
– I took a fairly relaxed start, when I knew that the members of the hot group would leave later, so there was a chance for the tough guys’ farts. In the last round I tried to go for a strike, and the end felt pretty good.
Ruuskanen was with the national team in the high-altitude camps of the training season, so he had experience with his body’s performance in high altitudes. The man thought in advance that the Davos track suits his characteristics well. A successful performance gives confidence to continue.
– It’s great that in a competitive situation you can perform well and place in the general series, Ruuskanen, who is eager for the Tour de Skill, concluded.
In the end, we saw a one-man show in the fight for victory
Krüger, the freestyle skier who won the competition, was convincing throughout the competition. The Olympic champion got off to a slow start, but rose to the top spot after five kilometers. Leading in the first intervals Didrik Tönseth eventually fell almost a minute behind in fifth place.
Davos suits Krüger perfectly, as he has won in the locality in both 2019 and 2021.
– I have felt special pressures. If I didn’t get a good result today, it would have been scary for the Tour de Ski. This was important, Krüger said according to Norwegian website VG. (you switch to another service)
Davos once again showed its special quality, because, for example, Germany, which was involved in the 10-kilometer victory struggle Friedrich Moch dropped to seventh in the final results, more than a minute behind the winner.
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The Norwegians’ tactics in choosing the starting positions before the race paid off, as Holund and Krüger got each other’s traction. Krüger caught up with Holund, who skied his second lap and started 11 minutes earlier, in his first lap.
Lindholm was in his twenties
Remi Lindholm, who came to ‘s interview accompanied by swear words, was satisfied with his skiing. However, the man regretted being outside the top ten.
– The best skiing of my life. I guess you can’t be disappointed with that, Lindholm estimates.
The high-altitude race on a course with more than 700 meters of total ascent suited Lindholm. The difficult Finnish Cup competitions in the early season are just a memory.
– It was a pretty hard day. I skied three laps of Dönnestad (Henrik) with, and one round of gas at the bottom by itself. It was an endurance race, I liked it. There should be more of these, Lindholm, who trains in wild amounts, told with satisfaction.
The Finnish name of the day, Ruuskanen, also made Lindholm smile with satisfaction. The men have been roommates on competitive trips throughout the early season. Lindholm was visibly happy with Ruuskanen’s performance.
– It’s really damn hard skiing. Sometimes it has been more difficult for Ars, he has gone home to collect and come back. Now he pulls a bomb like that, so I’m happy that he will be successful, Lindholm expressed his roommate’s performance.
Remember the Finns Perttu Hyvärinen was really disappointed with his own performance, which was enough for 32nd place. Markus Vuorela it was the 30s. The Men’s World Cup continues at the turn of the year with the Tour de Ski. Recovering from Corona Iivo Niskanen we hope to be there at that time.
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