Finland's Head Coach Discusses a Flop Day in Cross-Country Skiing – Problems with Wax Grip

Finland’s head coach Teemu Pasanen recounted how a drastic change in weather conditions during the race day in Cognes turned the snow wet and drastically reduced ski grip. Pasanen had expected more favorable conditions on Saturday, but the unpredictable weather meant that the ski tuning – especially during the transition to freestyle testing – did not hold up in the wet conditions.

The article details that Finnish cross-country skiers struggled in the World Cup sprint event in Italy. Although Jasmi Joensuu managed to advance to the semifinals as the fastest woman in the timing round, issues with ski grip hampered his performance in later rounds. On the men’s side, difficulties were noted early on in the qualifiers, with athletes like Iivo Niskanen and Lauri Vuorinen unable to capitalize on their training, a fact that disappointed the coaching staff and fans alike.

Coach Pasanen acknowledged the waxing failure and admitted that the team’s preparations could not anticipate the extent of the weather change. While successes were recorded in the women’s team sprint – notably the strong pairing of Krista Pärmäkoski with Jasmi Joensuu and the performance of Kerttu Niskanen – overall expectations were not met. Looking ahead, the team is set to compete in a 10 km free technique race on Sunday, with hopes that improved weather will allow athletes like Iivo Niskanen to deliver one of their season’s best performances.