Iivo Niskanen in, Perttu Hyvärinen and Remi Lindholm out – Finland names squads for the next World Cups

Finland has confirmed its squads for the next World Cup competitions: cross-country skiing and Nordic combined in Trondheim, Norway (5–7 December), and ski jumping in Wisła, Poland.

Cross-country in Trondheim will feature classic sprints, 20 km skiathlons, and 10 km individual start freestyle races. Women’s Nordic combined opens its World Cup season in Trondheim with two events; the men also have two events. The Ski Jumping World Cup moves to Wisła, where both women and men contest two individual HS134 large hill competitions.

The headline selection news is that Iivo Niskanen is named for Trondheim after withdrawing late from the 20 km free in Ruka. He said then that things were not quite in balance and he didn’t want to take risks on an icy, potentially dangerous course. By contrast, A‑team members Remi Lindholm and Perttu Hyvärinen are not selected. Lindholm was 49th in Ruka’s 20 km and suggested his Olympic hopes may have been hit; Hyvärinen’s start to the season has also been difficult (25th in the 10 km classic and 36th in the 20 km free at Ruka).

Among the men, Veeti Pyykkö, 23, who placed 32nd in Ruka’s 20 km free, gets his first World Cup experience outside Ruka. For the women, the cross-country group is essentially the A‑team plus Vilma Nissinen, who was 23rd on both distance races in Ruka and trailed only Krista Pärmäkoski and Kerttu Niskanen among Finns in the 20 km.

In Nordic combined, Minja Korhonen and Heta Hirvonen return to their main discipline after early‑season starts in the Ski Jumping World Cup to pursue Olympic ambitions (women’s Nordic combined is not an Olympic event). The article provides the full Finnish rosters for Trondheim (cross-country, Nordic combined) and Wisła (ski jumping).

Finnish squads

Cross-country – Women: Jasmi Joensuu, Jasmin Kähärä, Katri Lylynperä, Johanna Matintalo, Hilla Niemelä, Kerttu Niskanen, Vilma Nissinen, Krista Pärmäkoski, Vilma Ryytty, Amanda Saari.

Cross-country – Men: Olli Ahonen, Ville Ahonen, Niko Anttola, Ristomatti Hakola, Emil Liekari, Niilo Moilanen, Joni Mäki, Iivo Niskanen, Kalle Parantainen, Veeti Pyykkö, Arsi Ruuskanen, Markus Vuorela, Lauri Vuorinen.

Nordic combined – Women: Heta Hirvonen, Minja Korhonen. Men: Herman Happonen, Ilkka Herola, Eero Hirvonen.

Ski jumping – Women: Julia Kykkänen, Sofia Mattila, Jenny Rautionaho. Men: Antti Aalto, Niko Kytösaho, Vilho Palosaari.