Olympics: Iivo Niskanen received good news

Val di Fiemme

In value competitions it is more the rule than the exception that Finnish skiers and ski experts grumble about easy pistes.

At the Milan–Cortina Olympics, the situation is the opposite.

Cross mat Hakola laughs in disbelief when asked about Val di Fiemme’s new track profiles.

“Now you can say that the tracks are pretty rough. If there are hard tracks in the World Cup, they are easily to the power of two. Here we are at the heart of endurance sports, especially if the weather is slow,” Hakola says.

“I think we have one athlete who likes those… the tracks are For Iivo [Niskanen] pretty good.”

Also the head coach of Finland Teemu Pasanen the estimates are manna to Niskanen’s ears. Pasanen can’t suddenly think of a single World Cup location where the tracks are even close to as difficult as the ones in Italy.

“Canmore maybe, but I haven’t skied there for a couple of years either. It’s just as hard in Lillehammer if you can ski the whole thing there,” says Pasanen after thinking about it for a while.

The Lago di Tesero ski stadium is familiar from the Tour de Ski. Now, however, the tracks have been put to a new faith.

According to Pasanen, the tracks are heavier than the track profile and elevation meters would suggest – partly because the descents are twisty and there is no recovery.

“The World Cup has been skied here for 10 years and only the second run has always been drawn on the field. Now that the Olympics are on, the rest of the tracks were made. I don’t really understand why they can’t be made for the World Cup,” the head coach wonders.

Iivo Niskanen agrees with the view of Hakola and Pasanen: in his opinion, the Olympic tracks are “nice” and the uphill sections are “good”.

However, Niskanen reminds that the roughness of the terrain has a lot to do with whether the track is slippery or not.

“For example, the free side was quite fast and icy.”

Windy descents are not Niskanen’s best area of ​​expertise, he admits. However, the uphills are so long and rugged that you can tell the difference.

This is excellent news for Niskanen, especially considering he is in his fifties. The wilder the tracks, the stronger the Finn is.

“For 50 kilometers, the track is really good [silloin kierretään sekä vapaan että perinteisen puoli]. There are a couple of technical descents, but otherwise the track is nice. In a couple of descents, the group can pile up, but if the weather is slow on Sunday, it will be quite an endurance race.”

My neck point, we have mainly talked about the 50 km traditional race of the closing weekend.

It is often forgotten that Savolainen is the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in combined skiing, which will be contested in Val di Fiemme on Sunday. In Beijing four years ago, the combined race was 30 kilometers long (15+15), but now the distance has been shortened by a total of ten kilometers.

Niskanen is not shy about his goals.

“Of course I’m going skiing for a medal.”

Niskanen, who fell ill in December, did not reach the World Cup podium for the first time until January 18. Since then, everything has gone as planned, so the mood should be on the rise.

Niskanen prepared for the Olympic trials in his native Kuopio to avoid the extra travel burden. He arrived in Italy at the end of last week.

“I had to get a break from work so I could do the things I wanted before the main races of the season. I got into a good training mode quickly after Oberhof and started recharging here.”

Sunday in the combined race there is one familiar favorite above the others: Johannes Kläbo.

Niskanen’s chances improve if the conditions are slow. In order to reach the medals, he has to run away in the traditional section.

“It should be the best of the season and the skiing should feel better. It would give a good start to these games.”

The Finnish star names his main opponents William Poroma and Martin Nyenginwho, like Niskanen, have competed sparingly. They must be among the hardest bones even in their fifties.

“Hopefully I will be able to ski the traditional section at the same pace as them. Then we will see what my own situation looks like.”