Behind the Scenes of Finland's Ski Team at the Tour de Ski
Originally published in Yle on January 03, 2025
Mika Venäläinen has been preparing skis for the national team since 1997. Photo: Kimmo Porttila / Yle
A day with the Finnish cross-country ski team involves whispers, superstitions, and above all, extensive testing. We were allowed to follow as Kerttu Niskanen's skis are made ready for competition at the Tour de Ski.
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony echoes from the service truck's speakers. The servicemen pause and listen intently to the classical music.
Their expressions are solemn, and to an outsider, the atmosphere is puzzling. What is going on here?
The symphony plays for several minutes. Their expressions remain serious. When the music ends, it’s time for explanations.
Before last season's World Cup team sprint in Lahti, classical music was playing half-heartedly in the service vehicle. Jokingly, it was said that if a podium finish came this time, this must always be played.
Both Finnish teams reached the podium in the team sprint.
The next morning, the service personnel's vehicle left again from Vierumäki towards Salpausselkä. The day's events included a 20-kilometer race.
The truck drove a couple of hundred meters, but something was forgotten. The music was wrong. They dared not take the risk. The truck returned to the starting point to turn on the classical music.
“We heard Krista won, Kepa got second, and Iivo was second too. Ever since then, whenever the music played, we've made it to the podium,” says waxing chief Heikki Tonteri.
This expression refers to achieving a place on the podium.
Only on special days is this music played, on days when success is expected for the Finns. A lucky charm may lose its power if overused.
The music stops, the smiles fade, and the service personnel get to work. It’s 8 a.m., and there are four and a half hours until the first race of the day. The previous evening, equipment for today was tested, as the conditions have remained roughly the same.
Mika Venäläinen scrapes off excess glide wax from Kerttu Niskanen's skis. Venäläinen serves as Niskanen's ski technician at the Tour de Ski.
Other servicemen jokingly call him the intern. Venäläinen has been part of the national team operations since 1997.
His first overseas trip was to Italy, and here we are again. The place was a bit bigger than the small village of Toblach.
"We drove with the old four-wheel-drive Hiace to downtown Milan. There was plenty for a boy from Savonia to marvel at," recalls Venäläinen about the Milan city sprint.
Venäläinen has sent several skis out from his hands on which medals have been won. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, Sami Jauhojärvi, Iivo, and Kerttu Niskanen are among the names that Venäläinen remembers when discussing major international successes.
However, the best memories are about his wife, Kati Venäläinen, who won a medal at the World Championships. Mika coached her and prepared her race skis. Silver was achieved in the sprint in Lahti 2001, where the discipline was included for the first time.
Whispering in the Service Team
In the 15-kilometer classic race with a mass start in Toblach, Venäläinen is part of a four-man group testing grip wax.
"It's the most exciting moment when we go skiing them. It’s still very significant today. Who says we are going with this, let’s see who stands behind their words," Venäläinen chuckles.
The four men have eight pairs of skis with various grip waxes on each. The course opens at 9:30, and the men head to their chosen hill. They ski up it, and down below they switch skis among themselves.
Wax chief Tonteri collects feedback from the whisperers. Are there other country’s technicians around? What is being concealed here?
"This relates to the ability to make decisions. You can't just follow your buddy's lead and think, ‘Yeah, I'll go with that too.’ That's the easiest thing to say."
Mika Venäläinen whispers to the waxing chief Heikki Tonteri, while a technician, Kuisma Taipale, expresses his opinion. Photo: Kimmo Porttila / Yle
Soon the grip wax will need to be put on the competitors' skis, which will be coming in to warm-up. The schedule is tightening with a new rule that requires skis to go for fluorine testing on time. It’s decision time. It’s a go.
Nervous technicians line the sidelines. Success is nerve-racking. Failure is nerve-racking.
"You might as well need a shovel to dig yourself into the snow. Recovering takes a long time if it goes badly," Venäläinen reflects.
"Maybe it’s because when you live with emotions, it feeds on you for so long," he continues.
Mika Venäläinen is Kerttu Niskanen's ski technician at the Tour de Ski. Photo: Kimmo Porttila / Yle
The technicians wait for information through the team's radios about whether the grip is holding. The message comes that Kerttu Niskanen is the only top female skier whose ski has slipped.
That does not necessarily mean that the waxing has failed. Initial information may change, just like it did in the men's race at the Beijing Olympic Games.
“At two kilometers Ivo shouted, ‘It’s not holding.’ It begins to get jittery at that point, knowing the athlete has put everything into that day.
Then when I saw on TV that Ivo and Perttu were the only ones who managed to ski the steep part (the track straight, not skating), then at least they held a bit. And they managed a little too,” recalls Venäläinen.
Ivo Niskanen won Olympic gold, and Perttu Hyvärinen was sixth.
Mika Venäläinen is no longer on the permanent payroll of the Finnish national team. His permanent workplace is in Kuopio, but the role of technician has been facilitated by leaves of absence. He joined the Tour de Ski to fill in for absent team members.
Venäläinen admits that this trip may be his last with the national team.
The strain of travel weighs heavy, and the job of ski tester is not office sitting; one can rack up several kilometers of skiing in a single day. The days are often 12 hours long.
Beethoven and Physics Work
Kerttu Niskanen has performed excellently in the Tour de Ski. She is currently third overall. Photo: Lehtikuva
Kerttu Niskanen is in the top eight in the last kilometer. Venäläinen rushes to the finish area to see how it goes.
"Good Kepa! Second! Yes, yes, yes!"
Venäläinen is among the first to congratulate Niskanen.
"Was it better? Did it play okay?" Venäläinen asks Niskanen.
"Well, it was," replies Niskanen.
"Some grip wax was fine-tuned at the last minute. It worked."
It is not long before only about ten skiers have crossed the finish line when Venäläinen's celebrations are over, as the men's race is still ahead.
"I’m off to test the grips now."
