There were two sprint races at the Vantaa Ski Championships. Hakunila’s renewed sprint track had been extended, and it was especially visible in the women’s races. Even the top women took three and a half minutes to cover a distance of 1.5 kilometers in a sprint race, and in a pair sprint it took four minutes to go around the track.
The weather was still fast in Vantaa during the sprint races. If it had been slow, the gaps and times would have increased even more.
– The times could have been extended to four and a half minutes, and that would be far too long, Urheilu’s expert Ville Nousiainen stated.
– I would return different lengths of trips for men and women to the WC. If the Vantaa track were shortened for men, it would be too easy. For women, it is absolutely too heavy.
Nousiainen would like the tracks to be made so that the athletes can hit the gas right from the first meters, and there would be no need to ski the track like a normal distance.
Who surprised?
Representing the Savonlinna Ski Club Vilma Jylhä, 27, has been able to ski the World Cup once in his career. In the second season at Salpauselä, he made club history by skiing in the national team, but at that time was far from the next place.
In the sprint of the Vantaa SC Games, Jylhä was first in the qualifying third and won a lot of national team women. In the heats, he won his heat and made it to the final on time. In the final race, he fought himself to fourth place.
– Vilma Jylhä’s definitely the biggest bang and surprise of the day, Ville Nousiainen beamed after the final.
Vantaa had the best sprinters in Finland, but Jylhä was still able to confuse the pack.
– He skied well all day. In the semi-final, the performance looked a bit weaker, but in the final stage, there was a really good shot again. He held his place well, was close to a medal, but not yet. During the day, he didn’t have the kind of collapse that could have happened, Nousiainen said.
What the hell?
In recent years, Finnish male ski jumpers have not celebrated in the World Cup or prestigious competitions. So Antti Aalton The giant leap of 147.5 meters in Willingen surprised many.
The jumper from Kiteen Urheilijde had great conditions for his jump, and no less than 25.4 points were deducted from the jump due to wind compensation.
Aalto led the race after the first round, but in the second round his jump fell to the 128 meter line and the ranking fell to 14th. However, the ranking was Aalto’s best of the season.
– In the first round, everything was successful. I went to the second round with the feeling that the situation is favorable. I didn’t get as good a jump on it as I did in the first round. Maybe left to dig. The day was special, but you have to take the good things out of this, Aalto told STT.
In the race in Willingen, we saw another huge jump, when the race was won by Norway Johann Andre Forfang jumped a hill record 155.5 meters.
On Sunday, Aalto was completely eliminated from the last race of the weekend in Willingen.
– Antti has a terrible variation in his performances. We are at the heart of what a good jump consists of. We’re trying to get the pieces together to find consistency better, thought the head coach Lauri Hakola.
– There were a lot of good things at the weekend. Then sprinkle some lime on top.
The race weekend in Willingen brought Aalto the season and Kytösaho’s best (9th on Saturday) World Cup ranking.
Who flopped?
Iivo Niskanen had won 12 consecutive Finnish championships from normal distances, so the skiing ace was the number one favorite on the 20 kilometer traditional skiing route on Saturday. However, Niskanen started the race on straight push skis, and froze badly in eighth place.
– He didn’t dare to challenge traditional skiing Cross mat (Hakola), but tested whether tasuri would be a winning tactic. The road was not such that it would have been a winning tactic or a logical solution at all, Nousiainen wondered.
Nousiainen said that he understands that some of the skiers go to the traditional race with free skis or flat push skis without grips. It is understandable, especially for athletes who ski long-distance races, who practice a lot of straight thrusting.
– It makes sense for those who are not good at cross-country skiing. But Iivo has been one of the best shift skiers in the world for many years, so in that weather he chose the equal push tactic. I’d say it’s a flop.
What next?
The national team skiers were in a hurry to pack from the World Championships in Vantaa, as the team started their journey to the World Cup in Canada and the United States on Monday morning. The North American tour continues for a couple of weeks.
– Kerttu from Niskase you have to expect hard performances, once he skipped the WC and focused on the World Cup, Nousiainen said.
– I’m waiting too Jasmi from Joensuu strong sprint. He was convincing in Vantaa. Johanna Matintalo skied well on a normal distance and is able to do his best performances of the season both on a normal distance and in sprints on a traditional one.
On the men’s side, Nousiainen is especially looking forward From Joni Mäe good points, because based on Vantaa, Mäki’s rising condition is obvious. Pohti Ski Team’s skier dominated sprint qualifying and heats.
– It is entirely possible that Joni will start approaching the final place in the World Cup as well.
Canmore is located in western Canada, so the time difference there is nine hours. In addition, the town is located at about 1,300 meters, so Finnish athletes have to adapt to the conditions quite quickly.
– Pretty hasty going. I know from experience that the first couple of days there are like moonlight, Nousiainen said.
– It would have made it easier to adapt if the team had been able to, for example, be at a high-altitude camp in Europe, then one variable would have been tackled and there would only be a time difference. But here we go, what is.
Canmore (CAN)
9.2. 10 km (year)
10.2. sprint (v)
11.2. 20 km (p), joint start
13.2. sprint (p)
Minneapolis (USA)
17.2. sprint (v)
18.2. 10 km (year)