Niko Anttola, 22, delivers another top performance – one factor underlined the best race of his career

Finland’s rising cross‑country skier Niko Anttola, 22, is beginning to show his potential at senior level. A multiple junior world medalist who has struggled with illness in recent seasons, Anttola produced the best individual World Cup result of his career on Sunday in Davos, finishing 13th in the men’s 10 km freestyle interval start. He was the second‑best Finn behind Arsi Ruuskanen, who placed 11th. The gap between the Finnish duo was roughly six seconds. Both were well behind the blistering pace at the front: Ruuskanen trailed by 54 seconds and Anttola by about a minute.

Anttola’s early season was difficult, but a week earlier in Trondheim he had already set a career best in the same distance by finishing 15th. He highlighted that today’s strong effort came without any drafting assistance during the race. “The first three weeks were really tough, but since then my body has started to work better. Good races have given me confidence,” he said, adding he will focus on training before deciding his next start.

Norway reasserted its dominance after struggling in the freestyle sprint the day before, sweeping the top five: Einar Hedegard—this season’s revelation and formerly better known for biathlon—won by nearly 12 seconds over Harald Østberg Amundsen, with Mattis Stenshagen third, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo fourth, and Martin Løwström Nyenget fifth. Britain’s Andrew Musgrave was the best non‑Norwegian in sixth, and seven of the top eight wore Norway’s red suits.

Ruuskanen, who was eighth and the best non‑Norwegian in the same distance last week, felt slightly disappointed this time. He said he paced the first lap conservatively but couldn’t lift as hoped on the second. Both he and Anttola have strengthened their cases for Olympic selection. Among other Finns, Perttu Hyvärinen was 23rd, nearly 20 seconds behind Anttola, while Remi Lindholm was 49th, almost two minutes behind the winner.