In this article, Urheilu takes a look at the Tour de Ski and turns the eyes of a skiing expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen with for the last three races.
A rare Finnish success
The Finnish female skier has reached the podium in every race in this Tour. Jasmi Joensuu was second in the opening race in the free sprint.
Then Kerttu Niskanen has been among the top three three times. The best ranking is second in the traditional joint start race.
This kind of Finnish success is rare at the Tour de Ski. The last time a Finnish woman was seen on the Tour in so many races on the podium in a row was in the 2008–2009 season.
At that time, the streak was six races long. In those games Aino-Kaisa Saarinen there were five among the three and Virpi Kuitunen four times. Kuitunen celebrated four first-place races, the last of which came on the ascent of Alpe Cermis against Saaris. The Finns took a historic double victory in the overall race.
Finnish women had quieter years on the Tour for a long time, while in the last four seasons there have been 13 podium places for Finnish women. Niskas has eight of them in that period, Pärmäkoski three and Jasmi Joensuu and Johanna at Matintalo one each.
One of Niskanen’s prize places in this Tour has come from a free split start.
– As for Kertu, the medal haul at the World Championships in Trondheim looks really promising. He has consistency on all trips. The fitness level is so top, so you can say that a medal is coming, says Urheilu’s skiing expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen.
A confusing point system
At the Tour de Ski, different-looking point pots are distributed, which disturbs many. Unlike other World Cup races, you get fewer points from a single race.
For example, you only get 50 points for first place. The value of the victory is not significant in terms of points, as the runner-up in the race only gets three less points.
The winner of the overall competition gets 300 points separately. Within the competitions themselves, there are bonus seconds in the division, which reduce the skiers’ time from the total time of the tour.
In addition, separate points are awarded in the sprint and in a new format: the hill race. It is an internal race, which does not accumulate extra points for the overall World Cup race pot.
Saarinen, who once toured the Tour several times, finds the system confusing.
– I can’t say exactly where the hill race points come from either. It’s really difficult. This has gotten more confusing every year.
Already during Saarinen’s competition years there were ambiguities, although in the early days the situation was clearer.
– We athletes were bitten when we couldn’t stay on the cart even then. I don’t know why the International Ski Federation wants to make a simple sport so complicated.
Lots of prize money
The Swiss currency, the franc, is distributed at the Tour de Ski. The winners of the Tour’s overall race will receive approximately 91,700 euros in euros. Prize money will be awarded to the top 20 skiers of the overall competition.
In addition, money is distributed to the three best athletes of each race. The winner will receive approximately 3,200 euros.
Pots for regular world cup competitions are cheaper. Niskanen received more than 2,000 euros for his best finish in the Tour, i.e. second place, while more than 10,000 euros would have accrued from that place in a single race.
“Sweden’s Iivo Niskanen”
The biggest surprise of the Tour de Ski so far comes from the men’s side and the Swedish national team. Big 22-year-old Edvin Anger is second in the men’s race after four races, 36 seconds behind Norway Johannes Hösflot from Kläbo.
At first, the Swede was mainly considered a tough sprinter. In the 2021 World Youth Skiing Championships, he bowed to the winner of the championship Niilo Moilanen.
This season, Anger has taken a big leap forward as an all-around skier. In Sweden, he has become the country’s first male Tour winner.
On Wednesday, in the pursuit race with traditional skiing, he made a big impression on Saarinen. Anger was second and beat Kläbo, who was third.
– It was a really big bomb. At least it surprised me. He knows both skiing styles. He can become the winner of the Tour one day, Saarinen sees.
As a large skier, Anger is very distinctive. On the other hand, too Iivo Niskanen is a tall skier.
It’s great that different types of people can be successful as cross-country skiers. You don’t have to be small and peppery, but you can get by with different features.
Anger has quickly become the number one skier in Swedish men’s skiing, for example William Poromaan.
– He is like Sweden’s Iivo Niskanen. Sure, he’s come through the sprints, which is the typical pattern.
The chase is more exciting
The overall women’s race seems to be a four-woman affair, at least for the time being. Norwegian Astrid Öyre Slind and Therese Johaug mixed Kerttu Niskanen that of the USA Jessie Diggins are all within a minute of each other.
Saarinen would hope that the excitement of victory would culminate in the legendary Alpe Cermis as a pursuit race. Since 2020, the last race has been drawn as a joint start.
Many Finnish skiing fans remember Saarinen, Kuitunen and Slovenia by Petra Majdic a tough showdown at the 2009 Tour. At that time, the race was a pursuit.
– Definitely back. It’s easier to see who wins it. It’s more viewer friendly. I don’t understand why it was dragged into it.