The traditional Indian Hill will be skied this year in the Salpausselkä Games in a sprint for a long time. Finnish skiers of the younger generation have not skied it on the trip in question.
Roope Visuri,
Laura Arffman
BAY. An interesting bet will be seen at the World Cup in Salpausselkä on Saturday, when in the last sprint of the World Cup season, the legendary Indian Hill will be climbed.
The younger generation of Finnish skiers interviewed by Urheilu had never competed in international sprint competitions.
For example Lauri Vuorinen states that Indian Hill is a new thing for him.
– I have seen old videos. It’s a pretty tough job, Vuorinen stated.
Jasmi Joensuu instead, I was still going to watch YouTube clips of sprints in which Indian Hill has participated.
Jasmin Kähärä described the track as a special sprint track.
– First we go up and then we go down. Can upload pretty hard. Then we’ll be going downhill for a long time, Kähärä estimates.
The Indian hill is first climbed by a long stretch, after which there is a small and fast plateau. Then we count at high speed once again.
Joensuu saw the track as tactical.
– You can get tired on the way up. There is an important clip on it. In slow weather, the barn should also be kept hard when descending. It also gets pretty hard in Pees. over if you spend too much energy on the climb. You have to be in good places at the end, Joensuu described the demandingness of the track.
Johanna Matintalo recalled that Indian Hill has been drawn in the international sprint competitions last time in the pair sprint of the 2017 World Championships.
– It’s a nice change to go to Indian Hill. There have been a lot of races on the so-called basic track, so it’s definitely nice to do it this way, Matintalo said.
Sports expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen also saw Indian Hill in the sprint as a good thing. According to him, the ascent works at least with the traditional skiing method that is being competed for now. However, according to the expert, the competitors should not leave immediately full of energy.
– The hill gets steeper all the time. You should also be able to ski hard on the platform at the top of the climb. Then there’s the long bill. You also have to be in a good position when you start. You can also pass in the descent if you have the strength. So you should be able to push downhill. It accelerates the pace even more, Saarinen illustrates.
The track really demands a lot from the skiers.
– So that Indian Hill is really horrible. It feels really bad. The last 10 meters before the platform is a really tough place, Saarinen describes.
The J-bend after the Indian hill creates its own challenge.
– It can and does happen. You have to be careful in the bend. People are already tired of it, even though a little time has been counted down. There could be crashes, Saarinen concludes.
broadcasts the Salpausselkä races live on its channels. Live broadcast of the sprint qualifying on TV2, Areena and Puhee starting at 11:15. You can find everything about Salpausselkä’s World Championships on ‘s live coverage here.