Aino-Kaisa Saarinen Praises a New Kind of Iivo Niskanen – Criticizes Kerttu Niskanen's Weakness

Yle Sports’ cross-country skiing expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen speculated about the surprising nickname for Finland’s women’s relay team during the post-show of Sport Studio.

During the race in Les Rousses, France, 33-year-old Iivo Niskanen demonstrated that he was in top form by finishing second in the 20 km classic mass start race. Rather than taking an aggressive lead, Niskanen chose to observe his competitors and keep his strategy under wraps. Saarinen was impressed by this new tactical approach, noting that it was made possible by the pacemaking efforts of competitors Mika Vermeulen (AUT) and Hugo Lapalusin (FRA).

Niskanen, who typically excels in traditional interval start races where he can ski at his own pace, has found mass start events challenging due to crowded tracks and sprint finishes. Over the past decade, he has often worked hard to break away from the main pack, a strategy that once delivered his best possible result on the 50 km at the 2018 Olympics, where he narrowly missed his first Olympic gold while supporting Russia’s Aleksandr Bolšunov. With Russia currently absent from international competitions, Niskanen has been forced to compete strongly against top Norwegian athletes on his own.

According to Saarinen, the race saw aggressive pacing from Austrian Mika Vermeulen and a deliberate effort to unsettle Niskanen’s rivals, notably by targeting dangerous competitors such as Pål Golberg, whose final sprint is notoriously strong. Despite not falling too far behind the leaders, Niskanen ultimately finished in sixth place – a result he attributed in part to suboptimal equipment performance.

Saarinen also shared her views on the other races of the day. In the 10 km classic interval start race and the sprint, Niskanen did not perform at his best, likely due to incomplete recovery. In contrast, she highlighted 23-year-old Vilma Ryyty’s career-best World Cup finish in the free technique race, where she placed 16th, just one minute behind winner Jessie Diggins. Saarinen recalled her own early career struggles to break into the top 30 and sees Ryyty as a promising candidate for the upcoming women’s relay team.

Looking forward, the World Cup season will resume next weekend in Engadin, Switzerland. Saarinen expressed particular interest in the upcoming face-off between Sweden’s Frida Karlsson, who dominated the 20 km race in Les Rousses, and Norway’s Therese Johaug, who won the Tour de Ski at the year’s end but was absent in France over the weekend. Saarinen hinted that the performance trends might influence selection decisions for Finland’s team heading to the World Championships in Trondheim.