Iivo Niskanen and Johannes Hösflot Kläbo chose a different line – Aino-Kaisa Saarinen understands the Finnish star’s decision | Sport

Finland’s number one skiing name Iivo Niskanen will not be participating in this weekend’s World Cup races in Goms, Switzerland. Niskas probably won’t be seen competing in the next two World Cup weekends either, when the ski tour moves to North America, Canmore in Canada and Minneapolis in the United States.

Niskanen will next compete in the Vantaa Ski Championships next weekend.

Niskanen has announced the Salpausselkä Games and especially the legendary 50 km race in Holmenkollen as big goals for the remaining season.

Niskanen will now take a training break for the second time in a season without a prestigious competition. From the beginning of the season, he missed the Jällivaara World Cup. At that time, Niskanen already said that he was not aiming for the overall victory of the World Cup.

Sports expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen understand Niskanen’s latest solution. According to Saarinen, Niskanen wants to get the maximum result from Salpausela and Holmenkollen. Saarinen reminds, especially at Holmenkollen, that now is a good time to grab the prestigious 50 kilometer victory.

– In Holmenkollen, traditionally fifty-somethings take a long break. It will be several years before Iivo can try to win with his mind and style. Now, in the season without a prestigious competition, Holmenkollen’s fifty is the most important or significant of the individual competitions, Saarinen povaa.

According to Saarinen, the Vantaa Skiing Championship is not the best competition in terms of resistance and terrain, but going to North America would be a travel burden with the time difference.

Niskanen had to miss the Tour de Ski tour, considered the main event of the season, due to illness, but returned with a reasonably good shot last week to the World Cup in Oberhof, Germany.

Kläbo competes, Niskanen does not

Norwegian superstar Johannes Hösflot Kläbo has also given up the overall battle of the World Cup. Like Niskanen, Kläbo had to miss the Tour de Ski due to illness. Kläbo told having lost almost five kilos due to illness.

Kläbo told NRK that he is now focusing on next year’s World Cup skiing in Trondheim. However, there is a difference in the “surrenders” of the star of Norway and Finland. Norway’s number one star Kläbo continues to compete after recovering, although he is not completely in shock. He is also involved in Goms.

What separates Niska and Kläbo?

According to Saarinen, the difference between Niskanen’s and Kläbo’s solutions is explained by the fact that the top stars of Finland and Norway are different types of athletes. Saarinen sees that Kläbo is more versatile than Niska.

– After the illness, Kläbo’s results were seen in Oberhof as weak compared to his level, but Kläbo obviously feels that he gets a suitable response from these competitions and that the competitions take his fitness forward. For Kläbo, competitions are like his workplace, says Saarinen.

Saarinen reminds us that Kläbo’s and Niskanen’s starting points are different after the illnesses.

– Iivo has a focus on a couple of individual traditional competitions. At Kläbo, the scale is wider. Kläbo wants to maximize his results throughout the season. The starting points of Kläbo and Iivo are different. Kläbo has several competitions where he can be successful, says Saarinen.

When we also think about Niskanen’s main goal of the season, Saarinen sees the Finn as stronger.

– I would think that at Holmenkollen’s fifty, Iivo is still higher on the results list than Kläbo. I would put my money on Iivo, says Saarinen.

Mixed message as a weekend special

The Goms World Cup program includes a mixed relay on Friday, a freestyle sprint on Saturday and a 20-kilometer joint start on freestyle skiing on Sunday.

Of these, the mixed message is the specialty of the weekend. It returned to the skiing World Cup program after a break of almost 20 years in 2022. The mixed relay is competed with two women and two men. In the race, four by five kilometers are skied. Men ski on the 1st and 3rd sections, women on the 2nd and 4th sections.

The more traditional men’s and women’s relays were contested in Oberhof. However, they were condemned as boring.

Now Saarinen is waiting for more interesting battles. According to Saarinen, the situation is not as clear now as it is in men’s and women’s messages. The Swedish women have dominated this season, but the men have been slower. Norwegian men have been tough, but women have been weak.

– The distances are shorter, because Oberhof’s messages were 7.5 kilometers skied in each section. We’re going to see more rapid progress. Last weekend’s track was not suitable for joint start races. I want to believe that now there will be more speed in the performances and there will be more exciting competition, says Saarinen.

The previous two medley relays have been competed in Falun, Sweden. Finland was second in the mixed relay in 2022, when the best possible team was on the feet: Iivo and Kerttu Niskanen, Perttu Hyvärinen mixed Krista Pärmäkoski. Last year, Finland was only seventh in the foursome Cross mat Hakola – Anne Kyllönen – Perttu Hyvärinen and Eveliina Piippo.

Saarinen had hoped in advance that Kerttu Niskanen would be part of the message. The last time Niskanen was in the World Cup relay race was in December 2022.

When the relay teams were published on Friday evening, Kerttu Niskanen’s name appeared on the list. Finland’s number one teams form Lauri Vuorinen, Kerttu Niskanen, Perttu Hyvärinen and Krista Pärmäskoski. They ski in the second team Markus Vuorela, Johanna Matintalo, Arsi Ruuskanen and Jasmi Joensuu.

Before the release of the relay teams, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen named Kerttu Niskanen, Perttu Hyvärinen and Krista Pärmäkoski in her wish list, who were finally selected for the first team.

One big question mark in the Finnish mixed relay team was the other male skier beforehand and his part. After a little consideration, Saarinen would have placed the Finnish men so that Hyvärinen skis on the third leg. For the opening part, Saarinen’s papers had Vuorinen at the helm.

This time, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen’s wishes came true. Below you can vote for which message configuration you would have chosen for the mixed message to Finland.

Live broadcast from the mixed relay at Areena at 16:25. TV2’s broadcast starts at 18:00. See the complete program information for the Urheilustudio weekend here.