Kerttu Niskanen revealed a dramatic situation outside the TV pictures – a bad setback just before the World Cup gold fight

Planica World Cup skiing on channels 22.2.–5.3.2023. See the program and broadcast information of the World Ski Championships at this link.

The Swedes celebrated a double victory when Ebba Andersson was number one and Frida Karlsson runner-up in the combined race at the World Ski Championships in Planica. Andersson was the overwhelming winner, 22 seconds ahead of Karlsson.

Norwegian Astrid Öyre Slind took bronze. Kerttu Niskanen was left in fifth, while Germany still managed to finish fourth Katharina Hennig. Krista Pärmäkoski was sixth.

Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson kept pace with Kerttu Niskanen right from the start of the 15 km race. In the traditional section, Niskanen and Pärmäkoski fell away from the top for a while, but the Finns fought to change skis. Niskanen in particular was very much with the top group at this stage.

After exchanging skis, Andersson and Karlsson went their separate ways. Norway’s Slind was also able to escape in third place at the beginning of the freestyle section.

Kerttu Niskanen and Hennig tried to catch Slindi, the surprise of the day, but they didn’t quite succeed. Hennig overtook Niskanen at the end. Niskanen was 8.3 seconds behind Slind and 56.3 seconds behind the winner Andersson. Pärmäkoski beat Niskanen by 24.8 seconds.

Drama in Kerttu Niskas before the start

Niskanen said in Urheilu’s TV interview that he knew the Swedes would try to run away at the end of the traditional section and leave the tap open for free skiing.

– It was not a surprise. I didn’t even want to try. The pace was too much. I tried to fight for bronze. It wasn’t far. Sometimes I reached, but the difference was too much, Niskanen described his race.

According to Niskanen, Hennig was no help when the Finn tried to fight for the bronze medal.

– He was content to just hang out, and didn’t want to start pulling. In the end, he took it easy and wanted to beat me, but he didn’t want to pull. The division of labor was clear, that I get to catch up with Slind, Niskanen stated.

Niskanen described being a little disappointed in the fifth place.

– Of course the medal was close. I would have liked a bronze, but there are a lot of hard entrepreneurs here. The fifth place is not sought for free, but the goals are high, Niskanen stated.

Sports expert Kalle Lassila expected that Niskanen would have been able to challenge the Swedes better.

– Right before the equipment change, Kerttu was tighter than one might expect. It was known that Ebba and Frida ski hard on traditional. It was still worth expecting that Kerttu would be more dominant than them with traditional skiing, Lassila said.

According to Lassila, Niskanen lost in the free section, at least visually in the descents of the free skiing style.

– Visually, Kerttu had to take off more speed in the corners. He had to give in a little in them, Lassila estimated.

Niskanen later revealed to that he had had drama before the race.

– I fell quite badly in the warm-up. I skied the entire race with a kind of stilt, so it wasn’t terrible, or at least extra daring for those soft curves, Niskanen stated.

Krista Pärmäkoski gave up quickly: “I had to give myself a line”

Even Pärmäkoskea was not surprised by the Swedes’ rout.

– I let the breakup come. I could have kept up if I had forced myself to squeeze. Then I would have broken on the free side. I had to give myself a lead, Pärmäkoski said.

Pärmäkoski described the race as quite a battle in slow weather.

– Of course I would like to be better. This was certainly the maximum performance of the day, Pärmäkoski stated.

Next week we will compete in a free normal distance, a relay and a 30-kilometer joint start race with a traditional one.

– Let’s see how the weather changes. If it’s freezing, the track will be harder and faster. Now was clearly the slowest I’ve ever driven hard, Pärmäkoski described his outlook for the second race week.

The pipe opened from a mass crash – the expert annoyed the organizers

There were again several falls in the race. Andersson fell on the free skiing section on the descent.

– It’s hard to say what it feels like. So much is bubbling inside, Andersson, who won the first individual world championship of his career, described his mood to .

– I would be lying if I said that the fall had no effect. I was a bit stressed after that. Then I told myself to focus on the task at hand.

Eveliina Piippo was involved in a mass crash at the very beginning of the race. of the United States Rosie Brennan’s the ski, on the other hand, came off in one fell swoop.

In Massakolari, it was seen how one skier was caught blowing his advertising on Friday Arsi Ruuskanen like an injury. Kalle Lassila was not happy about it.

– It’s really special. Yesterday, one skier was really seriously injured. In today’s race, we see that the skier is again in a knot in the advertising fence. This thing should be somehow different. This shouldn’t be the case, Lassila criticized and believed that the skiing decision-makers must make the track even safer.

Piippo kiri still managed to take 15th place in the race.

– Damn that fall, Piippo said directly.

– I am proud that I was able to calm myself down. I trusted that I would be able to get up in this weather.

Piippo described his race as surprisingly comfortable.

– It usually annoys me when there are a lot of people on the track.

Anne Kyllönen had to stop because of asthma problems.