Jasmi Joensuu showed on Friday in Ruka’s sprint that he has raised his level again at least by a notch. Joensuu, who finished fourth, said in the interview that his secret is that he has done 365 more days of training compared to last year, i.e. the basic work of an athlete.
Sports expert Ville Nousiainen believes that the experience gained during the last season was reflected in Joensuu’s good performance. Last winter, Joensuu had a hard time on several occasions, when he crashed, fell and broke his poles during the games.
– When he has gone into those tight spaces, the equipment has broken. But you have to dare to penetrate those small gaps and be cheeky. It’s part of the sprint. If you never do it, you can’t make it in these rough places, Nousiainen stated.
– If it’s too nice, it won’t work, unfortunately. Or you have to be as superior as (Johannes Hösflot) Kläbo was on the men’s side.
Also coach of the Finnish national team Ville Oksanen saw a difference to Joensuu a year ago, because in Oksanen’s opinion Joensuu exuded a certain kind of calmness. In the heats, you noticed this in the fact that the Finnish sprinter was able to conserve energy to the end and put his best strengths to use.
– It was really cool and cool-headed skiing from Jasmi today, and it was quite enough to get to the end of the course, Oksanen said.
Carelessness and bad luck
Ruka’s sprint has generally been twofold for the Finns. Qualifying has often gone quite well, but the road has gotten steeper in the heats. This time, 16 Finns made it through the qualifiers, but only one athlete made it to the semifinals and finals.
According to Nousiainen, it was evident in the qualifying that the Finnish service has once again managed to read Ruka’s conditions well, and that was one of the decisive factors. However, the very successful maintenance was not much help in the heat stage, where many Finnish skiers crashed. Also the one who was the best in qualifying Johanna Matintalo the race ended in disappointment when his pole broke at the start.
According to Oksanen, there hasn’t been a similar day in the Finnish team recently. He hoped that the quota of bad luck for the season is now full.
– Partly it’s a little carelessness, especially if there’s a lot of partying and adrenaline. On the other hand, everyone who has had this happen to them also knows how to stay upright, Oksanen said.
In Nousiainen’s opinion, Finnish skiers often have difficulty getting the so-called last gear into use in sprints.
– It is often not a matter of speed. We have fast enough skiers, but how to maintain speed when you are on acid, that is the key thing, Nousiainen stated.
Among other things Joni Mäki and Krista Pärmäkoski in his opinion, have proven that when they are fit, they can control this aspect as well. On Friday, young newcomers Niilo Moilanen was close to the continuation place.
– He only needs a little step, it doesn’t depend on much. A second or a half more to the end, and then he’s already in a good position.
Good things to see
The traditional skiing sprint is also on the program at the World Championships in Planica, which take place in February-March. In Oksanen’s opinion, Ruka’s opening was reasonably good, because there is enough to think about in the selection of the women’s team for the next World Cup, that’s how many went from qualifying to the next round.
– On the men’s side, I am not satisfied with the results, but there were good things there, Oksanen said.
Oksanen was particularly pleased with the departure of Joni Mäki, the mainstay of the sprint team. In the fall, Mäki suffered from a stress injury to his lower leg, and because of that he has not been able to do running training. This has affected the innervation of the legs. Taivalkoski also skied poorly in the Suomen Cup Lauri Vuorinen the improved speed was significantly better.
– I am not at all worried that Joni will be fine in Planica. Good things happen. I trust the process, and we will try to make a better result over the course of the season.
You can find the broadcast times and offer of the sports weekend here.