Here are the reasons for the rare crash of Finnish skiers – a harsh sight awaits next Sport

No less than three Finns skied in the sprint finals of the World Cup on Tuesday. Finland’s head coach Teemu Pasanen opens up the reasons for the extraordinary success.

The Finnish national skiing team succeeded on a wide front in the skiing world cup in Canmore on Tuesday in the sprints of traditional skiing.

No less than three Finnish athletes were seen among the top six in the finals. Kerttu Niskanen was fourth in women. In a body Lauri Vuorinen was also fourth as well Joni Mäki fifth.

Such good results have been very rare in sprints in the last ten years.

Niskanen has previously been in the World Cup sprint final only once, in Stockholm in March 2013. At that time, he was third.

The Stockholm sprint final in question is also the previous time that three Finns have been in the world cup sprint final abroad on the same day.

In addition to Niskanen, we saw each other in the final Anne Kyllönen and Mona-Liisa Malvalehto.

In Finland, this was last possible in November 2021 in Ruka. That time we saw each other in the finals Johanna Matintalo, Katri Lylynperä and Joni Mäki.

Two Finnish men have reached the top six in the World Cup sprint only twice.

The last time this happened was in 2003 at the Drammen sprint final in Norway. At that time, they reached the top six Keijo Kurttila (2.) and Ari Palolahti (5th). Also in February 1996, in the Reit Im Winkli World Cup sprint, among the top six on the results list were Jari Isometsä and Ari Palolahti.

Urheilu caught up with the happy Finnish head coach Teemu Pasanen by phone from Canada.

– The mood of different athletes certainly varies every day. Everyone was in a good mood today. The equipment also did really well. We had really good and competitive skis. That was probably the biggest explanatory factor. The track also seemed to suit our skiers well, Pasanen explained the background of the jymypaukku.

They also pointed out the suitability of the Canmore track Kerttu Niskanen and Lauri Vuorinen recently in interviews with Viaplay.

– I didn’t think before the race that I would be able to ski in the final. This was a good day. When you go high, even a slower skier like this gets bloodied during the day, Niskanen, who won his first heat, spoke to Viaplay and praised his skis.

Vuorinen thought Canmore’s long final straight was good, because according to him, the final stretch is a strength. Vuorinen’s fourth place was the best of his career in the World Cup.

Harsh conditions and a weaker skiing style in Minneapolis

The statistics button about the rare success of the Finnish men tasted good to head coach Pasan.

– Lauri has been in a good mood all winter and Joni the last few weeks. The condition has been good, although it has not always been completely successful in the previous games. When everything falls into place, both will be able to be at the final level and fight for podium places, Pasanen described to Urheilu.

The sprint success is also explained by the fact that now they skied with a stronger Finnish style of skiing, i.e. traditional. On Saturday in Canmore, a sprint was also competed in freestyle skiing. At that time, no Finn reached the semi-finals.

– The traditional way of skiing is Sweden, Norway, a few Americans and French. In the free sprint, several Central European countries are tougher. With free skiing, getting to the semifinals is tougher, Pasanen reminds.

Freestyle skiing will also be contested next weekend, when the World Cup continues in North America in Minneapolis, USA.

There is also a sprint race, but this time in freestyle skiing. In addition, the program includes 10 kilometers of free skiing as an intermediate start.

Rough conditions also await in Minneapolis.

– In Minneapolis, skiing is done in the city park. It’s been warm there. There is no snow anywhere but on the slopes. However, the latest information is that it is possible to ski there on the original slopes, Pasanen said, and was not worried about the situation.

Last week, the race organizers of the Minneapolis World Cup published photos from the racetracks. The organizers had to resort to a special measure and put tarpaulins on the track to prevent the snow from melting. The pictures also show how there is no snow next to the slopes.