In the World Cup of Skiing, the sprints will be competed in Goms, Switzerland, on Saturday. Live broadcast of the sprint qualifying on TV2 and Areena at 13:55. Broadcast from the batch phase at 16:25. You can find everything about the Urheilustudio weekend here.
– I thought I would take it tactically. I’m high and I take a more cautious initial pace. I think I went moderately into traffic. At the kilometer mark came the first break. They shouted that I was second. There was a second ahead. I thought I’d win today then, Jari Isometsä looks back 24 years ago.
On February 16, 2000, this weekend’s World Cup scenery was contested in Goms, Switzerland. However, at that time the name of the competition location was Ulrichen in the FIS database. However, according to Isometsä, they now compete on the same tracks. Isometsä’s victory is also the last time that the Swiss village has held a World Cup.
At that time, Isometsä boasted an unusually strong self-confidence. Karpaasi felt that he was perhaps even in the hardest blow of his life. Within a month, there were two World Cup victories, two SM golds and one second place in the World Cup. Goms reached the end of this streak after the World Cup victory in Lillehammer and the WC Championship in Kerava. Falun took second place in the World Cup.
– Goms kymppi was one of my most perfect competitions, Isometsä recalls.
He even considered it the best performance of his life when he was fresh.
Isometsä recalls how he felt “riding the horse himself”. He had listened at intervals to see if he needed to go harder. He beat Sweden by eight seconds Per Elofsson in the struggle for victory.
– On the track, the head climb was quite tight. In terms of terrain, the track was quite rugged. It didn’t have terribly smooth sections. The track was quite fast. We went up and down tightly. It suited me quite well, Isometsä says.
Forgot to go to the award ceremony, the Maamme song is playing
Isometsä was even so ecstatic and happy with the victory that he forgot to go to the award ceremony. Isometsä had gone to the Finnish lubrication booth after the competition and started packing. Isometsä had stated that we were going to continue our journey.
There was a tight crease underneath. 6 races in 14 days. However, the maintenance manager had asked the recent winner if he had been to the award ceremony.
– I said no damn. I had completely forgotten that there is an award for this. However, as I remember, there was 15,000 Swiss francs waiting for money, Isometsä laughs.
– I think that was a good indication that money doesn’t matter that much. Performance and winning were the thing. When others reminded me about the money, I gladly went to get it.
Another special feature was the prize distribution.
– National anthems were also played there. When we went to the podium, the Maamme song blared from the loudspeakers. I don’t remember that there was such a thing in a single World Cup. FIS’s own fanfares were usually played. Maybe in a small town they wanted to organize the World Cup competitions at the very end, Isometsä says.
Even today, Goms is a small village. Only a little over 1,000 people live there all year round. I remember how difficult it was to travel there to Isometsa. Goms, located 1300 meters above sea level, was difficult to reach. We also got there in quite a hurry.
– We flew to Switzerland on Monday morning. Skis were tested on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we raced and went home, Isometsä described.
The competition program was also special considering the present day, as Switzerland was only visited in the middle of the week to hold one competition. The teams visited the small village only for one competition.
However, the area is quite a paradise for cross-country skiers.
– We went for a little run on the slopes of basic fitness skiers. Goms is an absolutely wonderful cross-country ski resort. Lots of tracks. They are in easy terrain along the valley, Isometsä describes.
Isometsä requires a change of attitude
Three of Isometsä’s four World Cup victories came in freestyle skiing. In recent years, Finland has not really done well with free skiing. The problems have also been talked about for years, but no result has come.
What to do?
Jari Isometsä, who currently works as MTV’s skiing expert, says that we almost have to wait for a new generation.
The current molars of the Finnish national ski team Iivo Niskanen, Krista Pärmäkoski and Kerttu Niskanen are over thirty. They are also hard on the traditional, so Isometsä understands their focus on their better way of skiing.
However, Isometsä sees that the younger generation is becoming masters of freestyle skiing: Jasmi Joensuu, Jasmin Kähärä, Arsi Ruuskanen, Remi Lindholm and Niko Anttola. According to the ex-top skier, it may take a year or so before they see each other on the podium.
In the big picture, the skiing legend scolds the Finnish skiing family for its attitude towards free skiing. According to Isometsä, one can also ask whether there is enough coaching information for freestyle skiing in Finland.
– In coaching and in the mindset of the athletes, we are distance skiers with a traditional way of skiing. The roughest matches of all are free skiing and sprint. Some kind of cultural change is probably needed, Isometsä says.
According to Isometsä, the importance of freestyle skiing is growing all the time in the World Cup of Skiing. He calls for a more visible change of attitude.
– Ask our skiers and coaches, and they claim that the attitude is fine. However, the results do not show that, Isometsä emphasizes.