Krista Pärmäkoski already complained about feeling stuffy after Friday’s 10 km freestyle race, and on Saturday he didn’t show up at the start of the stage at all. Coach of the cross country team Ville Oksanen according to Pärmäkoski, he didn’t feel good in his body and because of that decided not to ski the group skiing. According to the rules, this is allowed.
– Even if an athlete has a bad feeling in the morning, it might change during the competition. Krista came to the decision quite quickly after qualifying skiing that she would not start, Oksanen said.
However, according to Oksanen, Pärmäkoski is still on Sunday’s start lists for now. At that time, a 20-kilometer traditional cross-country race will be skied in Les Rousses.
Iivo Niskanen’s situation is also interesting, because he fell in Friday’s race and hurt his leg. Niskanen told Urheilu on Saturday morning that the leg is surprisingly fine.
– Yes, Iivo is skiing tomorrow, Oksanen said.
Sports expert Kalle Lassila expects both Niskas and Pärmäkoski to show that they are in good shape from Sunday’s race. Both have been quite a few question marks lately.
– Iivo missed the WC weekend and we didn’t really get any information about where he was going from yesterday’s free competition. The messages say that the man is in good shape, and I don’t doubt it, Lassila said in Urheilustudio.
In Sunday’s joint start race, the fact that the track is narrow and has a lot of bends gives Niskanen its own challenge, in addition, Niskanen has to start far from the front.
– Maybe what I hope is that Iivo would be in a good enough mood towards the World Championships and be able to keep a good pace. Making a result can already be more uncertain, how he succeeds in tactical solutions along the way and avoids damage and other problems.
Krista Pärmäkoski was in great shape at the Tour de Ski until she had to stop due to illness. In Lassila’s opinion, at that time it seemed that Pärmäkoski was going to take off.
– Now there are really big question marks about him both yesterday and today. Tomorrow will probably give more answers.
“Now we have to make the right moves towards the World Cup”
Saturday’s sprint was for many Finnish skiers the last international display for the World Cup competitions in Planica. On the men’s side, there was already a big surprise in the qualifiers, when both the new Finnish champion Cross mat Hakola that silver man Joni Mäki were left out of the batch phase. According to Oksanen, the skiing of both of them did not feel good in qualifying.
– Also the whole group of Finns were quite together. However, we were better in heats than in qualifying. Maybe there wasn’t a winning club in the qualifying, Oksanen stated.
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This season’s Sprint World Cup demonstration races have been the World Cup’s three traditional skiing sprint races (Ruka, Beitostölen and Les Rousses) and the traditional sprint of the Tour de Skin Val di Fiemme. Although Oksanen did not want to comment on possible choices, he stated that today’s race was definitely one from which conclusions can be drawn.
Although Finland’s number one skiers in the Les Rousses sprint were question marks on Saturday, Oksanen is not worried yet.
– In skiing, and especially in sprinting, there will be quite a lot of variation. So many things affect it. If it’s even a bit of a bad day, the result can quickly be bad in terms of investment, Oksanen reminded.
– I’m not worried. I know that all our athletes have done a great job. Now we have to make the right moves towards the World Cup, but there is still time.
Kyllönen’s best Finnish woman who interrupted yesterday
Anne Kyllönen was the only Finnish woman who survived until the semi-finals. The result was so interesting that Kyllönen, who rarely interrupts races, had to leave the 10 km race on Friday.
– So those days vary, Kyllönen laughed.
According to him, the team came to the competition venue with quick preparation and they still had last weekend’s Tampere Championship behind them. In addition to the load, Kyllönen also believed that the height of Les Rousses had an effect, even though the races were skied at an altitude of about a kilometer.
– Even though it’s not very high, one or the other has said that it doesn’t quite correspond to the sensations of the sea level, Kyllönen said, and he wasn’t worried about the drastic change in his earnings.
– The condition is definitely going forward and my knowledge is good. I would definitely have made it to the finish line yesterday somehow, but it would probably have been gone for today. You have to listen to your body. If you feel that everything is not right in your body, then you have to dare to make solutions. This day proved that I knew how to make the right decision.
Lauri Vuorinen was 10th as the best Finnish man and Niilo Moilanen continued his good performances in the traditional sprint, being 12th. Moilanen knew that Saturday was an important day for him, where he had to succeed.
– This was the last place on the screen and, above all, to gain more mental self-confidence. Three sprints and two semi-finals, I’m satisfied. I have been able to raise my level since last season, Moilanen said.
Vuorinen was also relieved, because he was left out of the medals in the championships.
– A relaxing day in terms of results, but yes, there was a lot to improve in that skiing. The best gift of the day was the finish in the first heat. It came off well, but otherwise there was room for improvement, Vuorinen stated.
Update at 19:18: Added Kalle Lassila’s comments about Iivo Niskas and Krista Pärmäkoski.