Iivo Niskanen opens up about his serious illness: "Had the worst possible luck"

The World Cup in cross-country skiing continues this weekend in Les Rousses, France. The most intriguing Finnish competitor in the races is Iivo Niskanen, who returns to competitive skiing after a break of over a month due to illness.

In France, the following events will take place: a 10 km individual start race in free style on Friday, a classic sprint on Saturday, and a 20 km mass start in classic style on Sunday. Niskanen will compete on both Friday and Sunday.

Niskanen last raced in mid-December in Davos. Since then, he missed the Tour de Ski and the Finnish Championships. Before his return to the World Cup, Niskanen described his unfortunate illness.

"I ended up with a sinus infection. I had a long break and was treated with antibiotics," Niskanen explained.

"It was the worst possible luck that I missed the Tour de Ski. I saw only one person in nine days. My coach came to watch the training with a mild illness. He had a mask on, but that didn’t help, and three days later, I got sick myself."

Iivo Niskanen shares insights about his illness, which sidelined him from competitions for a month.

The starting situation for the races in France isn’t great for Niskanen, but he acknowledges the need for some competitive action now. The last time he pushed himself hard on snow was in the Davos World Cup a month ago.

"Hopefully, Friday opens doors, and by Sunday, I'll be a little more ready," added Niskanen.

The main race of the weekend for Niskanen appears to be Sunday’s classic event, while he has low expectations for the Friday race.

"I don’t expect much from myself. Hopefully, my body responds well."

In the Les Rousses race, some top Norwegian skiers like Johannes Kläbo and Harald Östberg Amundsen are absent.

Kerttu Niskanen took a moment to breathe after the intense Tour de Ski where she finished fourth overall.

"I had a week to breathe at home, first resting a bit and then training lightly. The usual feeling after a tough Tour," Niskanen said.

Kerttu Niskanen is scheduled to participate in all weekend races, with her highest expectations lying for Sunday’s classic race.

"I hope to achieve a good result every day. The Sunday race is the best for me. The course is quite fast, and at times, there isn’t much space."

Jasmi Joensuu is aiming for a podium finish in the sprint. "My only big goal is to place on the podium in the classic race as well. That has been quite close, and I feel it suits me better than freestyle. The sprint course is very sharp and winding. Many curves and certainly fun situations will arise. It will be a nice course."

Ristomatti Hakola, who won three golds at the Imatra nationals, focuses on Sunday’s classic race in France.

"The courses are completely different now. When I skied the normal distance course, I thought it might even be the toughest on the World Cup. There are long, steep climbs," Hakola noted.

However, Kerttu Niskanen disagreed after hearing Hakola’s comments.

"It’s definitely not among the toughest courses. Is Rise maybe not in good shape, having skied too much in Finland? There are steep parts here and there but not by any means the toughest, Niskanen laughed.

Hakola is aiming for a place among the top ten and knows he must have everything in place on the day.

Article updated on 17.1 at 10:45: Title modified and reference to illness causes removed.