The multi-champion was not satisfied with his performance.
Kuusamo
Iivo Niskanen was like a sign of a storm after he realized that he had come second in his bravura ride in the traditional 10 km split start race in Ruka.
Niskanen came to congratulate the winner Martin Löwström from Nyenget in the goal area, but the brotherhood was short lived. Turning away from Nyengeti, Niskanen whipped his sticks in a fit of rage and hurried in the direction of the maintenance tent to hide from view.
The Finn’s gesture surprised me a lot.
“It’s a shame to lose. I thought I’d offer the audience something more than a loss. One of the worst races in Ruka. It was not a good mood today,” Niskanen uploaded.
The statement is harsh when you consider that Niskanen finished second despite everything. Nyengeti was separated by 2.9 seconds.
Although Niskanen feels that he has let his supporters down, there was no sign of it in the goal area. The thousand-strong audience roared with “Iivo shouts” when the hero was awarded after the race.
“There are always the best moments when I have started the season with a win in Ruka. There are a lot of spectators in a small area, so it’s nice to win at home.”
Hymns and secondly skiing Erik Valnes benefited from their starting number on Saturday. They constantly got breaks from Niskas, who was already at the finish line, when the Norwegians just postponed the first round.
Niskanen had to start with number 40, because he did not belong to the so-called hot group and therefore did not get to choose his starting place.
“It was an even race. Nyenget came to the front in the vitose when I was at the finish line. When it went roughly even, we were definitely on top of the situation at the back. However, it didn’t end there. I was weak,” Niskanen said.
The Olympic champion did not consider Nyengeti to be his toughest opponent in advance.
“I was a little surprised that the guy came so hard.”
Niskanen has almost always reached a high speed in the winter if he has succeeded in Ruka. This happened on Saturday, but the 31-year-old from Kuopio didn’t seem particularly confident in his condition.
“Not at all like a bet like a couple of weeks ago in Olos. For some reason, it hasn’t been going well lately.”
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