Ville Nousiainen’s tough call on a Finn’s Olympic prospects: “It looks like Karppanen is out of the game”
Originally published in Yle on November 24, 2025
Finland’s cross-country World Cup season opens this week in Ruka with unusually high expectations focused on classic sprints. Yle’s cross-country expert Ville Nousiainen says last weekend’s Finnish Cup showed encouraging signs from both the men’s and women’s sprinters.
In the early 2000s, Virpi Sarasvuo, Pirjo Muranen and Mona‑Liisa Nousiainen were Finnish sprint powers, but success dried up for years. The trend has turned recently, capped last winter when Jasmi Joensuu won the World Cup sprint crystal globe. In Ruka’s Finnish Cup classic sprint, Joensuu dominated, and based on early season form she is backed by a tight group of challengers: Jasmin Kähärä, Amanda Saari, Hilla Niemelä and Johanna Matintalo. Joensuu was fifth in last year’s Ruka World Cup sprint, and this time multiple Finnish women could reach the final. At 25, Saari was already ninth in Ruka a year ago.
According to Nousiainen, the finals quality looked high for both genders: there were real head‑to‑head battles and even the runners‑up lost to strong opponents. He singled out Amanda Saari as one of the most refreshing Finnish skiers heading into the season.
Men’s sprint outlook: Niilo Moilanen, Joni Mäki, Lauri Vuorinen, Emil Liekari, Juuso Haarala and Eero Rantala all showed good pace—important with the Milano–Cortina 2026 Olympic sprint set in classic technique. Moilanen, long touted as a top talent, won his first Finnish Cup race and, having made last year’s Ruka World Cup final and won junior world gold in 2021, could be a new Finnish name on the podium this season. His step to senior wins hasn’t been explosive, and at World Cup level he’ll still have to overcome Norwegians such as Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Erik Valnes.
Nousiainen was positive: Moilanen just beat international‑level compatriots (Mäki and Vuorinen), and sprint success often comes from confidence and race‑heat experience—daring to make the right moves under pressure. He added that to win World Cups Moilanen still needs more top‑end explosiveness.
Beyond sprints, Ruka’s opener also includes a 20 km mass start free and classic interval starts. In the Finnish Cup 20 km, 23‑year‑old Veeti Pyykkö produced a strong result, finishing second behind Ristomatti Hakola. Nousiainen believes Finns can fight for top spots in the classic interval races too, though expectations are lower than in some past seasons. Kerttu Niskanen’s form is uncertain, and five‑time Ruka World Cup winner Iivo Niskanen is not yet at his peak after a minor summer setback.
More worryingly, Perttu Hyvärinen struggled—17th and a minute down on Hakola over 20 km in the Finnish Cup—which puts his Olympic prospects in doubt after placing top‑six twice individually at the last Olympics. “We were only in the Finnish Cup, but barely making the top 20 is far off. He needs major step‑ups soon; Olympic places won’t keep opening forever,” Nousiainen cautioned.
Olympic selection picture: With five men’s Olympic spots up for grabs, competition is extremely tough. Nousiainen pointed to one casualty of the early season: Miro Karppanen. Despite winning Finnish championship gold last spring and being the second‑best Finn (after Iivo Niskanen) in Lahti’s World Cup, his current form suggests he’s fallen out of contention. Without Ruka World Cup starts, subsequent World Cups will also pass him by, leaving him “out of the game,” Nousiainen said.
Editor’s note: The headline was updated on 24 Nov 2025 at 9:59 to include the skier’s surname in the quoted line.
