Expert Speaks Out on Therese Johaug – The Norwegian Bowing in Ruka

What’s Trending?

The Cross-country Skiing World Cup season starts this coming weekend in Ruka. Based on the results from the Finnish Cup competitions held last weekend, Finnish sprinters are expected to achieve success broadly.

Yle Sports expert Ville Nousiainen anticipates that Jasmi Joensuu, Lauri Vuorinen, and Joni Mäki have the capability to compete for finals positions.

From this trio, Mäki and Vuorinen have reached personal top-three placements in the World Cup. According to the Finnish Cup, Joensuu may even be in the best sprinting condition of her career.

• "The course and timing have generally suited her. Some of the best performances have always been seen in Ruka, so why not now? She was also in good shape in Oloksella for the normal-distance race, so everything seems to be going well for her."

Jasmi Joensuu was fit during the Finnish Cup in Ruka.

However, regarding the normal distances, the weekend raised some questions. Krista Pärmäkoski is still far from her peak form. Kerttu Niskanen and Iivo Niskanen did not compete at all in the Ruka generals.

Head coach Teemu Pasanen told Yle Sports that the Niskanen duo has been experiencing slight inconsistencies with their fitness levels. The only notable performance from Iivo Niskanen was a fourth-place finish in the classic ten-kilometer interval start in Oloksella, which will also be held in Ruka on Saturday.

Nousiainen predicts that Niskanen will be in the top ten in Ruka but not yet in top-three condition.

• "His condition could improve, given he has two weeks since Oloksella. He may be close to a top-five finish."

• "What are the reasons for the slight inconsistencies? Tests may show if he needs to back off and do more aerobic training. Competition isn’t ideal at that point," Nousiainen speculated.

Iivo Niskanen was second in Ruka last year. Now achieving similar top success seems challenging. Photo: EPA-EFE/KIMMO BRANDT.

Who Surprised?

While the potential of Eduard Hallberg has long been known in sports circles, the young alpine skier's performance can still be considered a surprise. At least the 21-year-old Finnish skier was surprised by his eighth place in the slalom in Austria’s Göstling.

Having already secured the eighth position in Levi, Hallberg improved to fifth in Austria during the second run. This is a great sign of his talent.

Just over a year ago, Finnish alpine skiing was quiet. Now Elian Lehto in the speed events and Hallberg in slalom have brought positive winds to Finnish alpine skiing.

The 24-year-old Lehto was twice 11th last season in the legendary Kitzbühel downhill races. Hallberg, in turn, achieved the best placement for Finns in the World Cup in almost eight years.

Finnish alpine skiing's future suddenly looks very promising.

Eduard Hallberg shines in slalom. Photo: EPA-EFE.

Who Underperformed?

While there is a lot of positivity in Finnish alpine skiing at the moment, the same cannot be said for the Finnish ski jumpers based on the opening races of the World Cup. No Finnish athlete reached the second round in either of the Lillehammer competitions.

On Saturday, Antti Aalto finished 40th, Kasperi Valto 48th, and Niko Kytösaho 50th. Kytösaho’s performance was particularly disappointing, as he missed the qualifying round of Sunday’s race due to a starting number mix-up.

It’s typical that former strong competing nations in ski jumping dominate broadly. For instance, in Saturday's competition, four Austrians placed in the top five, and six in the top fifteen. There were seven Germans in the second round and six Norwegians.

This season marks 20 years since Janne Ahonen and Matti Hautamäki collectively achieved 18 first-place finishes in the World Cup. They have since fallen far from those days.

The weekend showed to be a flop for Niko Kytösaho. Photo: Tomi Hänninen / Chilipictures.

What’s Next?

At the Ruka World Cup, the biggest interest for Finland lies in the ten-kilometer classic interval start races on Saturday.

From the top trio of Finland, Iivo Niskanen, Kerttu Niskanen, and Krista Pärmäkoski, the best opportunity for success likely rests with Kerttu Niskanen. The latter has not been particularly impressive in the opening competitions of the season.

However, she was promisingly second in the free technique ten-kilometer race in Oloksella. With her less favorable skiing style, she only finished nine seconds behind the strong German Victoria Carl.

• "It was nice to see that I could challenge well," Niskanen expressed at that time.

This weekend interesting signals came from both Norway and Sweden. The returning competitor Therese Johaug was in strong form in the ten-kilometer classic interval start with a nearly 40-second winning margin. On Sunday, however, she narrowly lost in the ten-kilometer freestyle to Heidi Weng.

Ebba Andersson is considered the favorite for the women's ten-kilometer event in Ruka according to Ville Nousiainen. Photo: Tomi Hänninen - Chilipictures.

In Sweden, Ebba Andersson was impressive in similar distances. Nousiainen lifts Andersson and Frida Karlsson as the biggest favorites. Niskanen may compete for good positions against the Germans Carl and Katharina Hennig.

Johaug has been praised lavishly in Norway, but Nousiainen remains cautious about her true capabilities.

• "Norwegian women have not been particularly effective in traditional distances in recent years. Consistent performances have been lacking.

• "If she wins by just 40 seconds, that's not enough in the World Cup. Andersson wins others by a minute. Johaug's skiing doesn't evoke any ah-ha moments just yet."

Nousiainen notes that in the freestyle race, other Norwegians were only half a minute behind Weng and Johaug.

• "That might not be a sufficient gap. I believe Andersson will leave them behind with her current form."