Iivo Niskanen explains his withdrawal – stated he expected better: "It was shockingly far off"

Part of the article's content may not be accessible, for instance by screen readers.

Yle Sport follows the winter sports weekend from 13th to 16th March here_. The agenda includes Nordic skiing disciplines, biathlon, and alpine skiing.

Iivo Niskanen returned to international competitions at Holmenkollen after a month-long break. His comeback, however, was underwhelming as he withdrew from the 20-kilometer classic time trial competition.

At the 9.7-kilometer checkpoint, he was in 16th place, over a minute behind the leaders. Niskanen's skis appeared to lack grip, as seen on TV broadcasts. He did not appear at the following checkpoints.

The Finnish star fell ill with the flu before the World Championships and had to miss the season's climax.

Before the Holmenkollen weekend, Niskanen evaluated his condition, indicating he was not yet at full fitness. He still decided to compete in Norway to prepare for the World Cup's concluding 50-kilometer competition in Salpausselkä the following week.

Iivo Niskanen has been ill this season. Photo: EPA-EFE/Terje Pedersen

Finnish head coach Teemu Pasanen told Yle Sports after the race that he had no further information on Niskanen.

– I just came from the woods at that checkpoint. I noticed that Iivo didn’t come in the final lap and the radio said he quit after two laps. I haven’t seen him yet. I need to head to the maintenance vehicle to ask about the situation, Pasanen said.

Niskanen arrived a little later at Yle's interview spot. He explained that he had only done his first hard training on snow after his illness on Friday in Oslo. On the treadmill, he had done control workouts.

– The performance didn’t materialize at all this time. Sometimes it goes like this. I expected that the first couple of kilometers would be more manageable. It was shockingly far off. It became quite difficult to progress, Niskanen said.

– I expected better, but today there just weren’t the resources for anything better. I tried to raise my position a bit on a risk, but the pace of travel was starting to be very difficult.

According to Niskanen, his body felt quite good before the competition.

– I wouldn’t have fought for a victory today in any case. But it’s nice to come back to race, Niskanen said.

He plans to skip the Sunday competition and focus on the competitions next week in Salpausselkä.

How did it feel to watch the World Championships sick from your couch?

– There have been better days, but it is what it is. I'm sure many others have watched the competitions with a fever, so they know how it feels. I was just unlucky this time.

Hakola best Finnish

Norway's Martin Löwström Nyenget won the men's competition decisively.

He left Sweden's William Poromaa in second place by 51.2 seconds. The third was Norway's Simen Hegstad Krüger (+53.2). Others trailed over a minute.

– An incredible day. I was in great shape at the World Championships and managed to maintain that for these competitions. It feels like I got my revenge after the World Championships, Nyenget said to Yle.

Nyent fell twice during the World Championship medal battles and ended up outside the podium on both occasions.

Martin Löwström Nyenget was able to celebrate the victory. Photo: Jean-Christophe Bott / EPA

Johannes Kläbo won all six gold medals at the Trondheim World Championships, but the superstar of the sport finished over two minutes behind Nyenget at Kollen and was 14th.

– I’ve felt off all week. I trained for the first time yesterday after the World Championships. I’ve been really tired. My energy levels dropped after the championships. I’ve been thinking about the World Championships for 8-9 years. I’m trying to take it day by day and get plenty of sleep, Kläbo told Yle.

In the World Championships, Ristomatti Hakola celebrated silver in the team sprint with Lauri Vuorinen, starting strongly and hanging around in the leading spots at the early section’s checkpoints.

Hakola's pace slackened a bit towards the end. He was ultimately 12th, the best Finnish performance in the men's competition. He trailed the lead by 1:53.6.

– There have been races lately where I’ve started strong and faded towards the end. Usually, it’s the other way around for me. It's always better to be able to finish strong, Hakola mused.

Arsi Ruuskanen skied close behind Hakola at 13th. He tightened his pace towards the end.

– That was the plan. The start didn’t feel the best, so I didn’t rush. I knew there was a tough skiing condition coming up, Ruuskanen said.

From the other Finnish competitors, Niko Anttola was 16th, Ville Ahonen 22nd, and Markus Vuorela 46th.