Brisk run by Kerttu Niskanen, Krista Pärmäkoski struggles badly — Yle live coverage of Tour de Ski

Yle provides live text coverage of Tour de Ski’s 10 km classic interval-start races in Toblach, Italy, noting it lacks TV rights (held by Viaplay Group).

Men’s 10 km classic (earlier): - Winner: Mattis Stenshagen (NOR) - Best Finns: Iivo Niskanen 4th, Perttu Hyvärinen 12th, Niko Anttola 14th

Women’s 10 km classic (main focus): - 1. Astrid Øyre Slind (NOR) 25:33.7 - 2. Teresa Stadlober (AUT) +7.0 - 3. Jessie Diggins (USA) +8.8 - 4. Kerttu Niskanen (FIN) +33.2 - 5. Frida Karlsson (SWE) +35.7 - 6. Moa Ilar (SWE) +41.5 - 7. Johanna Matintalo (FIN) +43.7 - 8. Heidi Weng (NOR) +46.9 - 9. Ebba Andersson (SWE) +52.9 - 10. Katharina Hennig (GER) +53.8 Other Finns: Jasmi Joensuu 13th; Vilma Ryytty 23rd; Vilma Nissinen 29th; Jasmin Kähärä 36th; Krista Pärmäkoski 38th.

Overall Tour (after 2 of 6 stages, women): 1) Jessie Diggins (USA) leads, ahead of Astrid Øyre Slind (NOR) and Coletta Rydzek (GER), with Teresa Stadlober (AUT) and Moa Ilar (SWE) close behind. Finns in the top 15 include Jasmi Joensuu, Kerttu Niskanen, and Johanna Matintalo.

Reactions and analysis: - Kerttu Niskanen calls her 4th place a welcome sign after a sluggish start to the season. She says her skiing still isn’t at the level she wants but sees clear improvement and trusts the training system with coach-husband Juho Mikkonen. - Krista Pärmäkoski, 38th and 1:50 behind, says her poor form likely stems from pre-Tour COVID-19; she will continue the Tour. - Johanna Matintalo, 7th, felt her pacing on lap two could have been better and wants sharper execution in interval-start racing. - Sweden’s Frida Karlsson started too hard, slipped to 5th, and admitted to SVT she reverted to old habits. Swedish service issues were also cited: Ebba Andersson (9th) and Emma Ribom (12th) referenced problematic skis. - Jessie Diggins moves into the overall Tour lead.

Side note – Ski jumping, Four Hills (Oberstdorf): All three Finns (Niko Kytösaho, Antti Aalto, Eetu Nousiainen) were eliminated in the first-round KO duels and did not advance via lucky loser. Domen Prevc led after round one ahead of Jan Hörl and Jonas Schuster.