Aino‑Kaisa Saarinen finds reason for Iivo Niskanen’s disappointment — Kerttu Niskanen survived a brutal moment

Yle Sport followed the second day of the Tour de Skin — the 10 km classical interval race.

If the opening sprint stage in free technique was mostly disappointing for the Finns, Monday’s 10 km classical brought a lot of good news. Those joys were delivered especially by Iivo and Kerttu Niskanen, and strong efforts were visible further down the results list as well.

Iivo Niskanen, who had been ill with a cold, produced one of his best races of the season and finished fourth. He was 24.3 seconds behind the winner, Mattis Stenshagen. Niskanen nonetheless felt disappointed and wondered why the clock did not match his good sensations.

Niskanen said his skis were "probably OK" but announced he would immediately test whether another pair would have been better.

Yle Sport expert Aino‑Kaisa Saarinen judged that Niskanen skied an excellent race but likely made a small error in ski selection.

– Still such a good result and the gap to the leader is very tolerable. A small mistake in choosing the skis probably indicates the body is not yet fully tuned — then small selection errors can occur. Finland’s wax crew did well for both men and women, Saarinen said.

Niskanen’s season goal is solely the Olympics. December’s problems and illnesses cast a shadow over plans, but now he is back on schedule.

– This was a good sign for Iivo. There is enough time to get the body fully awake and fit for the Olympic tracks.

Finnish Olympic battle for limited spots

Finland has only seven men's Olympic quota places. Niskanen, Arsi Ruuskanen and Lauri Vuorinen are already selected. The remaining spots are effectively contested by Joni Mäki, Ristomatti Hakola, Niko Anttola, Niilo Moilanen and Perttu Hyvärinen — of whom one will be disappointed.

New twists emerged after Hakola fell ill and withdrew from the Tour. Hyvärinen, who has been on the edge of selection, produced his best World Cup result since February 2024 by finishing 12th (+44.1). Saarinen says that result helps Hyvärinen’s case, but he remains self‑critical.

Moilanen skied a solid distance race and finished 37th (+1:26.1), but Saarinen noted that Moilanen’s program is narrow — primarily sprint — so he will need a very strong showing in Val di Fiemme’s sprint to force selection. That might decide whether Finland includes a specialist sprinter on the Olympic team.

Niko Anttola continued his steady run by placing 14th (+47.2). Saarinen praises Anttola for lifting his baseline level into the top‑15 group, making an Olympic push more realistic.

Toblach is hard: the venue’s geography creates a thin, ‘sump‑like’ air mass so the effort can feel like higher altitude. The course is demanding with two long climbs and a final stretch where differences grow.

Kerttu Niskanen delivered under pressure

On the women’s side Kerttu Niskanen finished fourth, 33.2 seconds behind winner Astrid Öyre Slind — clearly Kerttu’s best race of the season. Saarinen called it an excellent performance and said Kerttu had been "on the knife’s edge" and delivered when it was necessary.

Kerttu described the race as close to a must‑succeed; Saarinen noted relief on the athlete and coach Reijo Jylhä’s faces after the successful effort. Saarinen also cautioned that while the race was good enough to move forward in the Tour, Kerttu’s skiing is not yet finalized and must continue to improve.

Johanna Matintalo’s seventh place also earned praise; Saarinen said she had never seen such strong free‑technique form from Matintalo as earlier in December’s Trondheim competition. Jasmi Joensuu (13th), Vilma Ryytty (28th) and Nissinen (32nd) also produced encouraging results.

Krista Pärmäkoski, recovering from COVID‑19, dropped to 38th (+1:50.5). Saarinen said the collapse was worrying and may reflect lingering effects of illness on muscle performance; time will tell what decisions Pärmäkoski makes going forward.