The selections of the Toblach World Cup relay, which was skied a week and a half ago, have still sparked debate. Finland did not ski the relay with its best lineup when Kerttu Niskanen, Jasmi Joensuu and Eveliina Piippo were on the sidelines.
The situation in Joensuu and Piipo has caused the most uproar. For Ilta-Sanom (you switch to another service) recently commented on the matter Aino-Kaisa Saarinen could not possibly understand that neither of them skied, as additional performances are expected from them for the second free leg of the WC relay.
Anne Kyllönen on the other hand, stated immediately after the message to that “not many girls were willing to ski”. Joensuu, on the other hand, has upset Ilta-Sanom and For Iltalehti (you switch to another service) a stir from the relay team.
– It was sad to hear such a thing from a teammate. Yes, Anne also knew that there would be one team from Finland in the relay on Sunday. Anne got there and skied great, Joensuu told Iltalehte.
Head coach of the women’s cross country team Jussi Piirainen finds it surprising that the issue is still discussed in the media.
– It’s quite surprising that the message of the World Cup is still being discussed a week and a half after the competition, especially when the message of the World Cup has no great significance in terms of the whole. In itself, I think it’s quite an interesting thing to discuss, Piirainen says to Urheilu.
In the following video, you can see how Eveliina Piippo and Jasmi Joensuu comment on the relay selections the day before the relay and Anne Kyllönen on the day of the competition.
Joensuu followed the decision of the coaching staff
Both Joensuu and Piippo have stated that they would have liked to ski in the relay. Joensuu told Ilta-Sanom (you will switch to another service)however, the national team’s coaching management considered that the 10 km freestyle race would be important for him in terms of the World Championship performances.
Joensuu pointed out to the newspaper that in Toblach it was a matter of two races as a whole, because three trips would have been too much work at this stage of the season. He followed the decision already made before the weekend with the coaching management.
Piirainen says that in the case of Piipo, the matter was discussed on the spot.
– At that point, both me and Eveliina saw it as more reasonable to leave the relay without skiing the next day because it would be the best situation when we go to the World Championships.
According to Piirainen, he and the national team coach Juho Halonen are responsible for the decisions, but the final responsibility rests with head coach Piirainen.
When making decisions, the issue is discussed with the athletes in advance, but some issues have already been agreed upon earlier.
– We make decisions according to the situation, which is seen as the best overall.
In the best shape for the World Cup
Piirainen has previously emphasized how the most important thing is that the athlete is in the best shape at the World Championships in Planica. When he is asked if the appreciation of the relay has generally changed over the years, the coach reminds him of the tight competition calendar of the World Cup.
Piirainen considers the value race relay highly valued and the athletes want to be involved in them. When talking about the World Cup, he reminds that the season includes a record number of competitions.
Thus, a lot of individual competitions and even competitions held during the same weekend accumulate during the season.
– Athletes also need to think carefully about which competitions they should ski in order to be in the best condition at the time of the prestigious competitions. In the current World Cup system, there are too many races to be able to ski all of them so that it serves the entire season as well as possible, Piirainen is spinning.
Is the Toblach weekend covered now and all focus is on Planica?
– At least within the team, these issues have already been dealt with on the spot and, as far as I understand, there has been no ambiguity or disagreements within the team when things have been agreed upon. My point of view is that these issues have been wanted to be brought up again after the fact and it has not necessarily come from within the team, why things are brought up again, says Piirainen.
According to Piirainen, the preparation for the World Championships in February-March has gone well. The athletes are healthy and some of the women and men have already traveled to the preparation camp in Northern Italy.
– No one is at the competition venue yet. The first ones go there on Thursday, and the race tracks don’t open until Friday, when you can ski for the first time, says Piirainen.
Finland’s team for the World Championships in Planica, March 22-5, 2023:
Ladies: Kerttu Niskanen, Krista Pärmäkoski, Jasmi Joensuu, Johanna Matintalo, Eveliina Piippo, Anne Kyllönen, Jasmin Kähärä
Gentlemen: Iivo Niskanen, Perttu Hyvärinen, Joni Mäki, Remi Lindholm, Ristomatti Hakola, Arsi Ruuskanen, Lauri Vuorinen, Niko Anttola, Niilo Moilanen, Ville Ahonen