Aino-Kaisa Saarinen almost always toured the tough Tour de Ski. He sees the current tour as more reasonable and that in Iivo Niskanen’s situation, no one would have anything to do with the Tour.
– After all, it was unreasonable and terrible for the athlete, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen remembers.
We are talking about the number one event of the cross-country world cup, the Tour de Ski, and the first years of its history almost twenty years ago.
The final warm-ups after the competitions were sometimes short. It was possible to arrive at the competition locations at three in the morning, even though the highways were pressed with gas at the bottom. The next day we competed again.
– We were driving quite fast on empty roads. The cameras flashed from time to time. I got tickets in the mail afterwards, Saarinen remembers the speeding fines he got on trips.
A memorable plastic bag trick in Alpe Cermis
The legendary final ascent of Alpe Cermis in Italy’s Val di Fiemme was also an experience of its own at the very first time in early 2007. Saarinen and Slender sprig Fibrous (now Sarasvuo) had gone the previous evening to explore the place. The head coach at the time Magnar I’m going down had thrown the star duo over the hill of Alpe Cermis.
– We lowered it with plastic bags. It was like “getting to know the track.” I don’t know if it was any good at all. We had fun then, Saarinen laughs.
Even on the actual race day, there were enough complications when climbing up the slope. The route was marked with pins.
– I looked up and saw a sea of tassels. I was wondering where to go. As I recall, one skier got lost. I wasn’t surprised at all. It was chaotic, Saarinen describes.
Nowadays, the final climb is better marked with blue spray paint.
Tour still at its core
Saarinen is a good person to reminisce about the old days, because he has competed in more than half of all the Tours from start to finish.
During his skiing career, 12 Tours were skied. Saarinen was only completely sidelined once because she was pregnant. Once he had to stop the tour due to illness. When Saarinen ended his career in 2018, he had accumulated a total of 80 race starts on the Tour. At least at that time it was more than at any other time.
Now being organized for the 19th time, the Tour de Ski is unprecedentedly close. Only one country and two competition locations: Italy, Toblach and Val di Fiemme.
The travel kilometers between the competition locations are ten times smaller than in the first years Saarinen remembers.
Finland’s top names Kerttu Neck and Krista Pärmäkoski have been happy about the change.
Saarinen understands their praise, because this year’s version is athlete-friendly.
– However, the Tour’s competitions have been of the same type every year. That way we get to the heart of the matter. Now that the prestigious competitions are coming, this is a very good solution, Saarinen refers to the World Championships in Trondheim in February-March.
The right solution from Iivo Niskas, Finnish women at the forefront?
Tour de Ski was developed twenty years ago to find out who is the best and most versatile skier touring Central Europe.
Saarinen admits that this year’s Tour is far from his original idea in terms of the number of competition places. He sees that the Tour could have more locations in the future.
– They shouldn’t be in the same model as in the early years, but some sort of average version. Two or at most three countries, says Saarinen.
On the eve of the Tour de Ski, Finns also received some sad news when the Finnish men’s number one name Ivo Neck said he was skipping the tour due to illness.
– When you get sick, the Tour is of no use to anyone. It’s the death of the end of the season if you go there. Iivota is the right solution, says Saarinen.
Top names for women Krista Pärmäkoski and Kerttu Neck are involved. Last year, Niskanen was third overall in the Tour. Saarinen sees that both women have shown their upswing and are in good spirits. If everything succeeds, both of them will fight to get into the top three.
– The most challenging race for them in the Tour is the very first race, when they ski the free sprint. Hopefully these sprints will even give them bonus seconds, Saarinen says and reminds that the competition partners will probably be Norway Therese at Johaug there will be similar problems.
Otherwise, he expects the women’s Tour to be much more interesting than the men’s Tour, because there are more candidates for the winner and podium places in the women’s. The five top names in the Men’s World Cup are all Norwegian at the moment. The winner of the Tour will probably also be decided between them.
– In the men’s category, the winner is a Norwegian. Is it Amundsen or Amundsen, Saarinen jokes, referring to the top name in the overall World Cup competition Harald Östberg to Amundsen.