A surprising situation was seen in the second round of the Combined World Cup Seefeld triple, when Norway, which has dominated the sport recently and leads the World Cup Jarl Magnus Riiber was rejected. In the official results of the International Ski Federation, the reason for the rejection was SCE4, i.e. a jump suit.
The Norwegian team later announced that the cause was a hole in the suit. The television pictures show that Riiber, who has won the prestigious triple competition twice, has a hole in the back of his jumpsuit.
– There is no complete certainty as to where the rejection came from. It could have come from the size, air permeability or that hole, Urheilu’s expert Petter Kukkonen told Urheilustudio.
– There must be no holes in the suit. For what reason has this come about, whether it is appropriate or not, my guess is that it is not. The suit is just torn. Probably at the top when the athlete is squatting.
According to Kukkonen, the holes made in the jumpsuit can sometimes be useful and such a thing has been tried.
– When holes are made in different parts of the suit, it is possible to change the air flow and lead it to other places. That might be useful, but I don’t think that’s the point here.
Riiber’s race weekend ended with this disqualification, and he will not be able to compete again on Sunday.
Ski fitness is not lost yet
Another topic of conversation in the combined this winter, at least for the Finns, has been skiing speed. Ilkka Herola and Eero Hirvonen haven’t necessarily dazzled on the hill section, but the pace on the ski track has been completely different. Herola has been the best skier on the combined World Cup tour in the previous three seasons, and Hirvonenka has not been far away either.
This season, however, the Finnish duo has been looking for their skiing speed. Hirvonen is currently seventh in the best skier statistics and Herola is tenth. Sure, Herola has missed three races, but even at his best he was “only” the fourth best skier.
– Would others have started aping what we did in the skiing side at the time and the general level rose? Kukkonen ponders.
He was the head coach of the combined national team for years until this season.
– If we’re being honest, it’s true that the skiing condition of these best athletes hasn’t completely gone down yet. Of course, there have been individual performances. For example, yesterday (Friday) Hirvonen skied the second fastest time.
In Planica, the fitness is getting better
Hirvonen has raised his level in a long time this season. Kukkonen, who coached him for years, said that the duo returned to the old model they used a few years ago in this season’s training. At that time, Hirvonen was quite successful in international competitions.
According to Kukkonen, Hirvonen’s good mood this season has been influenced by the fact that he has been able to train for a long time completely healthy. Hirvonen already had successful performances in summer competitions, where he won one summer GP and was third in one competition. Now Hirvonen would need competition success in the winter as well.
– Building self-confidence is a long way. Now there have been those small steps. I think that the athlete begins to develop again the confidence and vision that it is possible for him to reach the top again.
According to Kukkonen, the reasons for skiing speed can be found in training and recovery. According to him, if mistakes or changes have been made there, they will be resolved only after the season.
Kukkonen has been satisfied with the skiing speed of the young athletes. For example Otto Niittykoski has improved his speed this season.
– The years are not always brothers. And the season is still in progress, let’s go to the World Championships in Planica, that’s where the fitness will peak, Kukkonen assured.