Vuokatti’s number one Jasmi Joensuu revealed the “secret” of her speed – the surprise Tiia Olkkonen accidentally jumped to the top

A couple of big surprises were seen in the opening competition of the Finnish Cup of Skiing in Vuokatti. Another one of them was Haapajärvi’s Kiilojen Tiia Olkkonen, who finished second in the women’s sprint final. Olkkonen had the gas all day long, starting from qualifying, but in the final Jasmi Joensuu was harder this time.

– It came as a bit of a surprise, I didn’t expect something like this. I accidentally bounced into “prime”, Olkkonen laughed after the race.

Urheilu’s expert agreed Even Jussi Piirainen.

– I knew that Tiia was in good shape, but coming second in the competition and with such convincing performances, that was a surprise, Piirainen said.

Olkkonen, who belongs to the B national team, said that he has been practicing a lot recently. A week ago in Levi, he got excited to ski maybe even too much, but it only had a positive effect on his result.

Olkkonen has mostly skied domestic competitions in the World Cup, but this winter he would like to tour the World Cup more.

– Little by little to earn points. If I don’t make it to the World Cup, then to the Scandivia Cup. I don’t have any main races for the season, I just have to perform steadily.

Jasmi Joensuu of the Vantaa Ski Association was the clear number one of the day in the women’s series, and she already took her third consecutive sprint race victory in Vuokatti. Joensuu knew to expect a good result, because he has been able to practice on skis more than before, thanks to the good snow conditions in Northern Finland.

– I wasn’t thinking about the result, but that I would feel bad. I got it pretty good in the final, it was tart. It certainly didn’t look so good anymore, he laughed and said that he was now testing the limits, since there are no value races this season.

– However, don’t be greedy. For me, the condition of the muscles is important, I have gone before and listened to it. Much harder power made this year. We have tried what the grains are really enough for. Let’s see if it shows in the results.

Joensuu finally told the real “secret weapon” of his fast pace, because he had found dry food for his Keijo dog in his jacket pocket.

– I’ve been drinking these all day, he laughed.

Ahonen led every meter in the final

On the men’s side, the biggest surprise was the sovereign number one of the day Olli Ahonen. The victory of the Imatra Athletes’ skier was not necessarily a surprise, as he was also the clear number one in the Finnish Cup in Taivalkoski last season. But the way Ahonen took his victory was a surprise.

– Olli Ahonen was a clear ruler. He led every meter in the final. Very convincing going. He didn’t have to watch others’ backs, but the tactic is also to rule from the top, Jussi Piirainen beamed.

Ahonen admitted that he has a good reputation for doing things, and it showed today in skiing. Now his goal is above all to stay healthy. Last season, Ahonen got sick right before the World Cup in Ruka, and the illness messed up the whole rest of the season.

– If I stay healthy, everything will go well, Ahonen believed.

– I’ve been a little sick. There were more difficult parts in the fall, but I knew how to react and now the situation is good. Fitness and endurance characteristics have improved. It was a challenging start to ski today, but the technique remained in control. I think that was important today.

Expert Jussi Piirainen expected a better result in the women’s day race Katri from Lylynpera and Anni from Alakoski. On the men’s side Verneri Suhonen the race went to the bottom and ended with a crash already in the semi-finals.

– I expected a different speed from Lylynpera, but apparently the endurance was not strong enough. In the end, Alakoski was not able to challenge either. The male sprinters had good performances. Eero Rantala I didn’t see the end letter when there was a crash, Emil Liekari kept up the pace as long as he could. Also Eemil Juntunen was a surprise, Piirainen thought.