Iivo Niskanen was in a class of his own, but he unexpectedly had Harald Östberg Amundsen from Norway next to him on his parade trip to his victory celebration.
HONEYMOON.
IVO! IVO! IVO! Ruka’s ski stadium goes wild with screams that can be heard hundreds of meters away.
Ivo Neck received handsome honors when he won the opening race of the Men’s World Cup in Ruka, ten kilometers in traditional skiing.
From the Norwegian superstar John Hösflot Kläbo many experts expected a victory, but he was best challenged by the overall winner of last season’s World Cup Harald Östberg Amundseni.e. the best skier in the world in the previous season.
Kläbo regretted his problems with even shares.
– Iivo was impressive. Now we have a favorite in the World Cup. It’s nice that we don’t have any pressure now. I am satisfied now, Kläbo stated, referring to the World Championships looming in February-March.
The World Championships will be contested in Trondheim, Kläbo’s home town in Norway. However, Kläbo later stated that fortunately the WC medals are not awarded at the end of November. Amundsen spoke even more bluntly about the traditional top ten World Cup gold favorites.
– Iivo is the favorite in the World Cup. We will work hard to beat him. He looked like he’s back with it. It will be difficult to beat him in Trondheim, Amundsen stated.
Iivo Niskanen’s close circle also celebrated the victory in the stands right next to the finish line. Iivo Niskanen’s father Eero Neck received plenty of congratulations right after the victory was confirmed.
– We have to celebrate somehow. I have to think about it some more. Would you like to pick up cake and coffee from the store?
The last time Niskanen had won was in the World Cup in March 2022 in Lahti. The father was a little surprised by his son’s clear victory with a margin of more than 10 seconds.
– I would have imagined Kläbo that he would be hit harder just based on the newspaper stories. It’s good that it turned out this way, Eero Niskanen said.
1. Iivo Niskanen FIN 23.00,6
2. Harald Ö. Amundsen NOR +12.5
3. Martin L. Nyenget NOR +14.1
4. Johannes H. Kläbo NOR +28.2
5. Erik Valnes NOR +31.3
6. Simen Hegstad Krüger NOR +32.8
7. Jens Burman’s SWE +37.2
8. Thomas Maloney Westg IRE +37.9
9. Mika Vermeulen’s AUT +38.6
10. Hugo Lapalus FRA +40.0
19. Arsi Ruuskanen FIN +1.05,7
28. Ville Ahonen FIN +1.21.8
31. Lauri Vuorinen FIN +1.25,6
37. Ristomatti Hakola FIN +1.37.0
41. Markus Vuorela FIN +1.42,4
42. Remi Lindholm FIN +1.43.5