Andersson and Nyenget took victories in 10 km classic races

In the women’s 10-kilometer classic cross-country skiing race, an incredible incident occurred at the start when consecutive starters, Finland’s Vilma Ryytty and Kazakhstan’s Kseniya Shalygina, broke their poles right at the beginning.

It took some time for Ryytty to get a new pole in her hands. After the race, Ryytty commented that even the first spare pole was not as expected.

Ebba Andersson was the fastest at the first 1.1 km checkpoint, with Frida Karlsson half a second behind. Initially, it seemed that the race would be dominated by the Swedish duo until Rosie Brennan’s performance began.

Rosie Brennan managed the pace distribution excellently and continuously improved her position as the race progressed. Brennan was ninth at the first checkpoint but eventually finished second in the race, just 4.9 seconds behind the winner, Ebba Andersson. Karlsson ultimately took third place.

Andersson mentioned that the second round was challenging but she managed to maintain her speed until the end. Brennan commented that her skiing was the best of her career in a classic style race.

The best Finnish participant in the race was Kerttu Niskanen. Niskanen finished seventh on the day, 27.22 seconds behind the leader. Niskanen felt that her skiing was not yet relaxed enough.

Krista Pärmäkoski finished twelfth on the day, and Jasmi Joensuu was sixteenth, just under 12 seconds behind Pärmäkoski. Pärmäkoski said that she had too tacky skis for the day’s conditions.

Results women 10km 

Winner’s interview with Ebba Andersson

Iivo Niskanen had to settle for 2nd place in the men’s 10-kilometer race

In the men’s 10-kilometer race, an incredible battle unfolded between Finland’s Iivo Niskanen and Norway’s Martin Nyenget. At the 3.1-kilometer mark, Niskanen held the lead with a 1.1-second advantage, but by the 6.1-kilometer mark, the difference between Niskanen and Nyenget had turned in favor of Nyenget. The Norwegian’s effort proved sufficient until the end, ultimately finishing 2.9 seconds faster than Niskanen.

Niskanen’s starting position was not optimal, as his strongest challengers skied behind him, receiving constant interval updates from the front.

Niskanen was visibly disappointed with the results. “Yeah, I was expecting to win,” Niskanen commented immediately after the race.

Nyenget acknowledged that the one-second duel against Iivo was inspiring.

Erik Valnes, yesterday’s sprint winner, secured the third position in the race. Last year’s winner, Johannes Klaebo, trailed the leader by 42.8 seconds and finished 14th in the final standings.

Markus Vuorela and Ristomatti Hakola helped each other during the race, both finishing among the top twenty. Hakola claimed 17th place, and Vuorela secured 19th place.

The fourth-best Finnish skier, Perttu Hyvärinen, was the 21st fastest on the day. Hyvärinen noted that his skiing was slightly improved compared to the previous weekend.

Results men 10km 

Text: Laajasalon Opisto / Kalle Hildén Kuva: Kuusamon Opisto / Juha Turpeinen