Krista Pärmäkoski and Kerttu Niskanen fought until the very end for the podium positions in the Lillehammer World Cup in the women’s 20 km traditional cross-country start race. Pärmäkoski, who finished fourth, was behind Sweden, who won the race About Frida Karlsson 2.9 seconds. Niskanen was fifth, three and a half seconds behind the leader.
In the race, Norway took second place Tiril Udnes Weng (+0.6 s) and third is Sweden Ebba Andersson (+1.2).
On the opening weekend of the World Cup, Pärmäkoski finished fifth in ten kilometers in Ruka. Today, he hurtled up the leaderboard, getting closer and closer to the podium places. The experienced Finn didn’t want to judge the result, but was left thinking how the bitter fourth place could have been slightly improved.
– Close, but not yet. In the third lap, someone stepped on my poles a bit, and then you had to be careful. The settings fell behind unnecessarily. I had to make a small stoppage and increase the investments. It may have taken a bit of strength, but on the other hand, I was able to respond quite well in long calculations. Not to worry, because three was better, Pärmäkoski commented to Urheilu.
In Saturday’s sprint, Pärmäkoski’s Erähihto went wrong when a Norwegian skier fell in front of him. On Sunday, Pärmäkoski and Niskanen had to react quickly when several skiers crashed in front of them. The Finns avoided the wreckage in a crowded race.
You can watch Pärmäkoski and Niskanen’s near miss from the beginning of the video above, as well as the other most interesting moments of the race.
Pärmäkoski estimates that his condition is about right.
– I am quite confident. Yesterday was good skiing and today was good skiing. Not quite there yet, but close, close, Pärmäkoski said.
The Finns improved their positions as the competition progressed. Niskanen moved to the front at just under nine kilometers with a quick jerk from the tail of the leading group. Pärmäkoski also crept closer to the top in the second half of the race. At 14 kilometers, the Finnish duo had risen to second and third.
Karlsson picked up the pace from the last lap in the previous lap, and was just on his heels Katharina Hennig and Ebba Andersson. However, the trio could not get away properly despite Karlsson’s pace. In the last lap, when Hennig still broke his pole and fell out of the top fight, the Finns got stronger and stronger in the fight for the podium places.
Pärmäkoski regretted that it was impossible to make big differences in slippery weather and an easy track.
– Yes, we skied quite hard today and especially Frida kept up the pace. That track is just incredibly easy. The uphill section is short and the weather was slippery now, so a lot of pushing the taser. Probably, if it had been snowing and the weather was slow, I think we would have been able to make more solutions, Pärmäkoski said.
Kerttu Niskanen did not come to ‘s interview.
Lindholm 15th, the Norwegian party continued
The men’s 20 kilometers on traditional skiing ended in Norway By Pål Golberg to victory. The Norwegians took eight of the ten top places. Swedish people William Poromaa and Eric Rosjö were Fifth and Eighth.
Six seconds left of the winner Remi Lindholm the final ranking was 15th. Perttu Hyvärinen was 18 and Lauri Lepistö 29th
– I feel like I’ve stabilized my level between ten and twenty, but it’s not quite enough yet. Today, if I fell asleep at all, twenty thunders passed. You have to be in good positions in these, when you fight for the rankings in the last round, Lindholm said.
Results, women’s 20 km (p)
1. Frida Karlsson SWE 53.51,9
2. Tiril Udnes Weng NOR +0.6
3. Ebba Andersson SWE +1.2
4. Krista Pärmäkoski FIN +2.9
5. Kerttu Niskanen FIN +3.5
6. Moa Ilar SWE +4.1
7. Katharina Hennig GER +4.3
8. Anne Kjersti Kålvå NOR +5.2
9. Jessie Diggins USA +5.5
10. Heidi Weng NOR +7.2
……
18. Anne Kyllönen FIN +30.0
22. Katri Lylynperä +1.25,9
37. Hilla Niemelä +2.54,1
41. Eveliina Piippo +3.42,2