Iivo Niskanen Claims Victory in 2024/25 World Cup Opening event at Ruka, Klaebo Finishes 4th

The 2024/25 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup season started at Ruka on Friday. Iivo Niskanen took an impressive victory at the 10 kilometer classic race. The difference was 12.5 seconds to Harald Amensen, who finished second.

“I felt good at the finish line and I was able to enjoy the last kilometers of the race. It was a great race. Nothing to complain about”, Niskanen said after the victory.

After Niskanen, it was Norwegians dominance, as they took the next five spots, with Martin Nyenget taking the third place.

Being a favourite to the race, Johannes Klaebo didn´t fulfill the expectations and finished on the fourth place.

“Tough race, tough conditions, so nothing more to say”, Klaebo commented after the race.

The next Finn was Arsi Ruuskanen, who was one minute behind Niskanen and finished 19th.

Other Finns and their positions: Ville Ahonen 28th. Lauri Vuorinen 31th. Ristomatti Hakola 37th. Markus Vuorela 41th. Remi Lindholm 42th. Juuso Haarala 46th. Alexander Stahlberg 53th. Juuso Varis 56th. Emil Liekari 66th. Lauri Mannila 69th.

Results

Text: Olli Österman
Picture: Teemu Moisio