After the eighth mc victory of his career, Niskanen admitted that it was difficult to get to Lahti at the end of the week, which included a celebration and other program.
Bay
Iivo Niskasen the olympics are brothers to each other – at least almost.
Four years ago, Niskanen won 50 kilometers (p) of Olympic gold at the Pyeongchang Games. A week later, he raced second at home in the Lahti World Cup for 15 kilometers (p).
This time Niskanen did a little better in both arenas. The Beijing Games became a straight color for the medals, and at the end of the celebration week, he enjoyed huge popularity in Lahti when he won his bravura trip again, 15 kilometers on the traditional one.
At the same time, the performance was a testament to the work ethic of the hard class.
In the first round, Niskane was injured in the form of a small fall. He thought he had lost less than ten seconds in it.
“Someone in it was pushing me to my knees. Fortunately, nothing has been resolved today. It had the rest of the time to patch up. These are always such that they have to be handled during the performance, that the pace of control remains in control, ”Niskanen said with the chalk lines of a long interview contract.
Remedial action were ferocious. At 11.5 km, the top three were almost level, and Niskanen was the third of them. More than two kilometers later, Niskanen had torn more than a ten-second lead.
Finished in Norway Johannes Høsflot Klæbo Sweden’s 21-year-old, who had climbed the World Cup podium for the first time in his career William Poromaa 18 seconds.
For Niskanen, the victory in the World Cup was the third of the season and the eighth in his career. He won this same trip in Lahti in the 2020 World Cup and the 2017 World Cup.
“I knew I had to do uphill skiing today. There was a lot of power left on the last puck, and I thought I should have left earlier. The last round was so fresh that the difference was quite big, ”Niskanen analyzes.
Niskanen admitted that at the end of the week, which included a party and other program, it was difficult to load in Lahti.
“When I’m not quite in the form I would have liked, and it was hard to position myself after the Olympics. It was a hard week below, but when it came to this, and there was a lot of crowd along the track, it felt like there was something going on here. There was a suitable adrenaline rush that the skiing felt surprisingly good. ”
Next over the weekend, Niskanen will once again try an achievement for which he has shown great interest. This is 50 kilometers (p) of skiing at Holmenkollen in Oslo, which Niskanen considers to be the most prestigious competition in the World Cup.
“I think charging there starts when I get a little time difference to catch up. This opened the head knobs in such a way that you could enjoy racing again. ”
Niskanen repeated that silver Joni Mäki after the sprint message that brought him with the Olympics, he had minor lung problems caused by dry frost.
“Since then, I haven’t been able to practice the way I would have liked. Apparently I was able to dig into the mood after that trip and a little party. I think Kollen has a more normal body to make a profit. ”
The Norwegian Ski Association announced yesterday that it would not welcome Russian athletes to the mc competition in Norway in March.
Niskan was asked if he thought the Russians would not come to Oslo.
“It’s hard to say if that would change the appreciation of that race in any way, but it remains to be seen what happens. Today I was able to enjoy being a skier so much that there was a great atmosphere. ”
Niskanen has reached the second at Kollen’s 50 kilometers at best, but it will be five years. There have been failures there in recent seasons, partly due to ski problems.
“Let’s start here to prepare well for that race and think about tactics. Yes, it is such a dream, and hopefully one day I will be able to shake hands with the king himself, ”Niskanen referred to Holmenkollen’s winning tradition.
Niskanen once again collected praise from its competitors. Norwegian Pål Golberg has competed with Niskanen since the junior series.
“Even then, Iivo showed his great potential. Now he is, I think, the best traditional skier ever. His level has been amazing, especially this year. Outside of competitions, he’s a really nice and easy going guy. I’ve enjoyed chatting with him, ”Golberg said.
Kisan In addition to Niskanen, the most positive Finnish performances were those who were severely disappointed at the Olympics Ristomatti Hakola tenth place, one of the best in his career on normal trips, and a 19-year-old recent young World Championship medalist Niko Anttolan mc debut, which came out in 37th place.
“The final round had a relieved feeling that I wasn’t as miserable as I was at the Olympics. This was mentally important. The day is starting to brighten again, ”said Hakola, who was very positive.
Anttola said that he knew that the ride in the World Cup is cold.
“It wasn’t easy, but quite a good pace compared to my own level. In the youth championships, it felt good to see that my own level is enough against the best in the world, ”said Anttola, who won the World Championship silver on Friday.
Anttola said that he had received congratulations from Niskane for the World Championship medal. However, he does not consider Niska his idol.
“Not that much more, but it has provided inspiration. Iivo is a tough athlete. You can succeed whenever you have to succeed, ”said Anttola.
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