Kerttu Niskanen suffered an unfortunate setback in the Tour de Ski victory in Val di Fiemme.
Roope Visuri,
Laura Arffman
Kerttu Niskanen had to be disappointed in the race to win the Tour de Ski. Niskanen dropped out of the continuation right after the sprint heats, when he finished fifth in his heat.
‘s expert Ville Nousiainen saw that poor calculation skills threw Niskanen to the last place. The long descent on the sprint track of next year’s Olympics was not difficult for Nousiain.
– Everyone will figure it out, but who can pedal a good speed into the intermediate slide? Kerttu went plowing, the top two went with a little step. There will be big differences, Nousiainen illustrated.
Niskanen set himself up in an interview with . Niskanen had circled the track before the set. According to Suomalaistäh, there was ice on the slope before the track, but softer on the edges. Niskanen said that before his set he had managed to bump his ski into a softer part.
– I would like to go along the ice. It was not a good option at all. I went fast. It went really badly. I gave too much leveling on it. It was what it was, Niskanen regretted.
Others for the overall victory are fighting Norway Therese Johaug, Astrid A mole Slind and the United States Jessie Diggins were also dropped from the continuation at the same stage. Niskanen wanted a strict separation in the pre-planning, but now he is not able to do that.
– Should have been able to get a good distance from the girls in front and a few girls behind. It didn’t go well. There’s nothing you can do. A tour is a tour. You can only look in the mirror. My own performance was not enough, Niskanen lamented.
The outlook for Saturday’s combined race (10 kilometers traditional and 10 kilometers free) was also gloomy.
– There will be a rally track. Traditional and free on the same route. Steep climbs, bends and rapid descents. The men ski below the race, so do we have any slopes left? Niskanen described.
Like Niskanen, left in his prime Krista Pärmäkoski was really disappointed in the interview with and he opened up about the slippage on his skis, which was interpreted as weak.
– The slip looked bad when there was contact on the descent. Lotta (Udnes Weng) was so close in orthodoxy. He didn’t have to take up space. I was afraid that we would shoot and crash both. I had to open the package. I’ve never counted that last bill so badly here. I don’t think I had a worse ski than others, Pärmäkoski said.
Frustration shone from the Finnish skiing star.
– Really annoying. Tactically, I would have liked the second lane on the left. I didn’t get to it. On my heels, they skied uphill. It’s annoying in that way, Pärmäkoski says.
From Saturday’s combined race, he expects the Norwegians to maintain a strong pace.
– Therese and Astrid are pulling hard. Heidi (Weng) goes along with it. There will be a big difference in free time. You don’t give yourself an easy time. We’ll see what happens, Pärmäkoski described.
The story is updated.
Tour de Ski results service