Iivo Niskanen frustrated with his skis – Finland's support team admits a major failure

Iivo Niskanen faced disappointment last Sunday in Lillehammer. After winning the 10-kilometer traditional interval start the previous week in Ruka, Niskanen finished in 13th place during the 20-kilometer combined race.

In good form, Niskanen started off strong in the traditional section. However, during the third lap, he struggled to maintain his pace and eased off towards the end, choosing to stick with the speed of others instead of pushing ahead. The transition to free skiing is known to be challenging for him, and he dropped out of the lead pack shortly before the finish.

Niskanen expressed his frustration about his skis during the free segment. "They weren't functioning well. During the traditional segment, my equipment was still somewhat okay. After switching skis, they had decent grip, but I don’t know if it was the waxing or what caused it to work better this time," he commented.

This was his first significant struggle of the season. The Finnish support team, led by head coach Teemu Pasanen, acknowledged their collective failure. "We didn’t succeed today. Despite that, both fought well. There were significant differences. Some had great grip, while others struggled with it. Iivo managed to fight with a somewhat mediocre ski during the traditional event but had a really poor ski during the free portion," Pasanen noted.

The men’s results saw Norway dominate with Harald Östberg Amundsen winning the race, followed closely by teammates Jan Thomas Jensen and Martin Löwström Nyenget finishing second and third respectively. Niskanen finished 37 seconds behind the leader, with Arsi Ruuskanen also underperforming in 20th place, losing to the winner by 55 seconds.