On Sunday, the women’s 50-kilometer freestyle skiing co-start competition will be held in Norway’s Holmenkollen. Women have never skied a 50 km race in the cross-country skiing world cup.
The historical moment threatens to be overshadowed by the competition period. Planica’s World Cup skiing ended less than a week ago with long-distance competitions, so the recovery time for the traditional weekend of “Kollen” is really short.
– The timing of the competition weekend is wrong when skiing in a prestigious competition year, Urheilu’s expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen says directly.
The international skiing federation FIS unified the women’s and men’s Ski Tours for this season’s World Cup. Now, for the first time in Oslo, two 50 km races will be held, of which the men’s race will be seen on Saturday.
For women, the distance, which is more than 60 percent longer than the 30 km race of previous years, brings its own additional spice in addition to the short recovery time.
– This is a learning journey for all women, Saarinen describes.
What changes compared to 30 kilometers?
The duration of the women’s race will be extended to well over two hours, while the 30 km race has been a performance of just under an hour and a half. Travel is a different requirement for sustainability.
– There may be more “interruptions” in the race than before, because there is no experience of speed sharing for this distance. There is no estimate of what kind of pace it will take, Saarinen analysed.
Skied long-distance competitions of the Ski Classics series for years Heli Heiskanen thinks that the time differences between the skiers will grow bigger than the 30 km race.
In the opinion of both endurance freaks, the training background of World Cup skiers is enough for a successful 50 kilometer race. The trip does not require special training from athletes who have trained for years and competed in 30 kilometers.
Saarinen describes a 50-kilometer race as requiring more precise refueling in advance, according to individual needs, than a 30-kilometer race. The skier must not fill up too much, and not too little.
Heiskanen also brings out the subtlety of refueling.
– I don’t refuel much myself, because by the time I refuel, there is a risk that the metabolism will not work during the competition, when the performance will be blocked.
During the competition, getting fluids and energy are emphasized. Saarinen believes that the races will take place approximately every five kilometers, like a 30-kilometer race. Success in them is important.
– If the energy runs out, there can be a real breakdown, says Saarinen, a 15-time medalist in the prestigious competition.
– Blood sugar must be at a sufficient level so that the heart can pump at high speeds, Heiskanen emphasizes energy intake.
Saturday, men 50 km, V:
Juuso Tossavainen, Markus Vuorela
Sunday, women 50 km, V:
Kerttu Niskanen, Eveliina Piippo, Vilma Ryytty, Rebecca Immonen, Emmi Lämsä
I don’t like the calendar
The compactness of the cross-country skiing competition calendar has spoken throughout the ski season. For example, at the beginning of the season, both women and men competed in a total of 10 races over four consecutive weekends.
The timing of the traditional Holmenkollen weekend is just one example of the problematic nature of the cup calendar.
– After all, the athletes criticize every year when the long-distance competitions on the calendar are skied on consecutive weekends, who has been in the FIS athlete commission for years Martti Jylhä says.
Saarinen tells his own experience from 2019, when the competition calendar was last “normal” after the World Championships. He was at Holmenkollen during the race weekend.
– I watched the group at breakfast. People were really tired. Below is a long season, long prestigious races decided by 50 kilometers (for men), Travel and, in the worst case, the time difference. Then Kollen’s really heavy terrain, where the conditions are often still wet. I think it’s a bit like human violence, Saarinen downloads.
He says the situation is reflected in the number of participants. For example, in 2019, 45 participants started the men’s 50 km race, 15 of which were Norwegian. 27 non-Norwegian skiers finished the competition.
– The fact that the best are not on the line is the sport’s biggest problem, Jylhä says directly.
He says that the planning of the competition calendar is influenced, for example, by the distance between the competition venues and the TV rights. The Ski Federations of the countries organizing the competitions sell the TV rights for their competitions, so they get more income if there are more competitions organized in the country.
According to Jylhä, athletes are listened to better than before in the International Ski Federation. He says that the athletes have been waiting for years without success for the competition calendar.
– At the level of principle, it is understood that athletes cannot compete in two or three competitions per weekend, but when the calendar is agreed upon, no one is ready to give up their own competitions, Jylhä elaborates.
The next weekend’s competitions at Holmenkollen are also threatened with a loss of participants. For example, on the women’s side, Germany only participates Victoria Carl and, for example, eighth in the World Cup Katharina Hennig remains sick Krista Pärmäkoski way home.
On the men’s side, the ceiling is even tougher. Top skiers on the page include, among others Sjur Röthe, William Poromaa, Calle Halfvarsson, Francesco De Fabiani and Finland Perttu Hyvärinen and Iivo Niskanen.
The world champion is waiting for Sunday
The majority of female skiers opposed FIS’s decision to unify men’s and women’s competition routes for this season. As a strong influence in the background, the International Olympic Committee has strongly pushed for the unification of the trips.
Individual skiers have praised Jylhä’s decision. American Jessie Diggins publicly praised the opportunity to compete at 50 kilometers in Norway.
– I am so excited to finally be able to ski a 50 km race! I’ve been waiting for this my whole career and I finally get the chance to ski this incredible and iconic race at Holmenkollen, the new world champion glowed before the weekend (you switch to another service).
Saarinen also thinks that the changes for this season will divide the opinions of the athletes. For “endurance types”, for example, skiing 50 kilometers can be perfect. For Sundays, he considers the possibility of fluctuation.
– Can it happen that someone runs away, but gets caught, Saarinen speculated with a frown.
Heiskanen reveals that fatigue can occur during a long journey, which will pass when the energy and fluid balance is restored.
– During the competition, there are thoughts that now it goes and now it doesn’t, but these don’t necessarily tell anything about the end result, he laughs.