Kerttu Niskanen ended his season with a victory in the Finnish Cup in Rovaniemi. After the race, the tired skier already had his sights firmly set on vacation and was excited about the construction project ahead.
The women’s cross-country Finnish cup ended Kerttu Niskanen to prevail. He won the traditional joint start race by more than 50 seconds before the winner of the overall Cup race Johanna Matintaloa. After the competition, Niskanen was already in a strong holiday mood.
– Yesterday on a walk in Olos Juho (coach and husband Mikkonen) already started talking about the upcoming summer races. I said shut up, we’ll talk about them later. The coach has already made plans, but I don’t even want to hear them yet. Let’s take a little break and then take a closer look, Niskanen revealed about preparing for the upcoming season after the competition.
Earlier this week, Niskanen finished second in the traditional Lapponia skiing, and accumulated 190 competition kilometers. The strains of the long season can already be felt in the body of the endurance miracle.
– I’m already so tired that I did a short workout and only tried one ski in terms of grip. We opened the jacket a little, and it was a bit scary that we even went too open, Niskanen revealed.
The transition season is now coming for skiers. Niskanen’s plans for the holidays and the summer are clear.
– House construction. Let’s go home and start working on the ground. It’s going to be a great summer for sure. If we’re not talking about a sports career, one of the biggest things will come true when you get your own home, Niskanen enthuses.
National team designs are a puzzle
In the day’s competition, Niskanen was strong as usual after the first round, and the fatigue was not visible, at least in relation to the other top skiers in Finland. Niskanen ran away at the beginning of the second lap at the end of the hardest uphill part of the course.
– The track has a huge benefit from the pees, which you already saw in the first round. I thought that you have to ski briskly enough for that climb to make the difference in doing your own skiing. You could already enjoy the last round, the winner finished the competition.
During the final weekend of the season, the roles of the national team’s first season background players have been talked about. Coach of the women’s national team Jussi Piirainen said in March that he would quit his position. Lubrication manager of the maintenance group Mika Venäläinen already said the same thing earlier this season. Answers about the upcoming season’s lineups have not yet been received.
– We don’t really know anything about them yet. I’ve had such a good working mood and clear tunes with Juho for the last couple of seasons. In my opinion, the most important thing is that your own thing works and that you absorb everything you can from the team. I hope that we can get a good team together for the national team. Maintenance is really important to us. Just greetings to Mika, that we will call again, Niskanen chatted.
1) Kerttu Niskanen, Vieremän Koitto 42.14,6
2) Johanna Matintalo, Pöytä Athletes +51.1 seconds
3) Anne Kyllönen, Kainuu Ski Club +51.7
4) Jasmi Joensuu, Vantaa Ski Club +52.5
5) Eveliina Piippo, Vuokatti Ski Team Kainuu +1.15,6
6) Vilma Nissinen, Vuokatti Ski Team Kainuu +1.50,4
7) Krista Pärmäkoski, Ikaalist Athletes +1.50,4