Iivo Niskanen finished eighth in the SC skiing.
Threefold Olympic champion Iivo Niskanen32, finished eighth in the 20 km traditional skiing race at the Vantaa Skiing Championships.
Niskanen's separation from the winner of the SM gold Cross mat Hakola was almost two minutes. Niko Anttola grabbed the silver and Lauri Lepistö bronze.
Niskanen, representing the Puijo Skiing Club, had taken to the track unlike the others with a straight push. He admitted after his performance that it was a miscalculation.
“I didn't go to the track in the morning. There was a rumor that there was ice, but the track was not icy at all. It was quite a tough set compared to yesterday”, Niskanen assessed.
According to Niskanen, the weather was wetter than expected. He states that the conditions would have required different equipment than the one he relied on.
From the neck was asked near the goal area if his performance will be taken to heart.
“Well, let's put it this way, if you thought in advance that Hakunila had easy tracks, today you had to be tough,” Niskanen said, considering his words.
“Apparently Niko (Anttola) and Lepi (Lauri Lepistö) skied pretty hard. The differences were surprisingly small, for me there was a big difference. It's certainly a tight race for those front spots.”
Niskanen even considered stopping the race, when he fell significantly behind the leader in the early stages.
“After the first puck, it was quite strong in my mind. Now we skied until the end, if this hand could handle it better with Kollen.”
My neck the competition season has been broken. The season has included illness, which is why Niskanen missed, for example, the Tour de Ski and the World Cup in Switzerland.
Niskas will not be seen in the North American World Cup next week either. He has said that his main goal is the Lahti Games and the Holmenkollen 50 km distance, for which he is saving himself.
Now Niskanen says that he is feeling better.
“A bit better than in Oberhof, we're in a really good situation for that.”
#Skiing #Iivo #Niskanen #explains #decision #wrong #considered #stopping #race
