Apart from Kati Roivas, Team Eksjöhus, Finnish Ski Classics Pro Team athletes didn’t have the best day, but they managed to maintain steady performance once again. However, there were some frustrations among the skiers due to difficulties and wrong choices during the race.

“For the men, the race went very well overall, but they missed the last feeding station, and Veli-Matti had a bad crash. The skiers are in good shape, and the equipment is in good condition, so we’ll continue to La Diagonela with confidence. The women were not satisfied with their performances, and Oona’s ski choice didn’t quite hit the mark,” admitted Kari Varis, the Team Kaski-Ekovilla’s Pro Team Director, to Maastohiihto.com.

Among the male team members, Juuso Mäkelä finished 29th, and Veli-Matti Räsänen was 55th. Among the women, Oona Kettunen was the second-best Finnish skier after Kati Roivas, finishing 20th, and Eerika Konu was 39th.

“It was an okay race. The team’s waxing was perfect, and the ski worked well. I didn’t feel my best today since we arrived at the race venue just before the competition, and the altitude seemed to affect me more than usual,” shared the best Finnish male skier, Juuso Mäkelä, after the race.

Olli Tyrväinen, Pro Team Director and skier of Team Edux expressed satisfaction with Swedish addition Sofia Lindberg’s performance in the women’s race, where she finished 16th. However, the Finnish male skiers on the team didn’t have the best day.

“For the men, it’s a close call, but we’ll give it another try next weekend. There’s potential for better results when everything aligns. Our support was top-notch as usual,” Olli continued optimistically, believing that the male skiers could improve their performance.

Team Edux’s male skiers finished around the sixtieth position, with Isac Holmström in 59th place and Olli himself in 65th.

Viktor Mäenpää from Team Mäenpää had been preparing for the race in Livigno and achieved the second-best Finnish result in the men’s race, finishing 33rd. Overall, Finnish male skiers had a satisfactory race day.

“It was a good first half. My body felt good, and the ski worked well. After the uphill, my drinking bottle froze, and I lost a lot of energy in the last ten kilometers when my body was running low on energy,” Viktor lamented his minor misfortune.

Heli Heiskanen, competing for the Italian team Team Internom Alpenplus Trentino, was not satisfied with her own performance.

“I felt powerless right from the start, and my body lacked energy. It was quite inefficient skiing,” Heli expressed her dissatisfaction.

In contrast, Kati Roivas, who achieved the best Finnish result of the day, was understandably delighted.

“It was a very good day, and it felt good right from the start. The pace didn’t feel too fast in the beginning, even though it seemed to break up the group. Around the fifteen-kilometer mark, Ida and Emilie tried to break away, and I was able to follow them. Just before the sprint, I lost the basket of my right pole, and my teammate Magni Smedås gave me her pole, so a big thanks to her for that. I probably wouldn’t have been able to compete for the podium without her pole. After the sprint, there were four of us, and when Ida pulled away, I didn’t dare to follow her. I thought it might be too tough for me. It felt like we were skiing quite calm pace as a trio for quite a while. After the Climb checkpoint, I managed to pull away a bit at times, even if it wasn’t really my plan,” Kati commented on her race and lavishly thanked her support team for providing excellent skis.

Also Read: Smedås’ support boosts Roivas to podium place

“It was very easy to ski at that pace during the race, and sometimes it even felt like the pace was too slow, but I didn’t want to do too much work at the front to conserve energy for the end. Five kilometers before the finish, I wanted to break away because I didn’t want to leave the decision to a final sprint, and I knew I had good skis. Fortunately, I made that decision. It felt like an easy ski, I had enough energy, my body was functioning well, and I’m really satisfied. It’s a joy to ski with a team like this, where you can work together when things are going well,” Kati continued to analyze her race.

Finnish Ski Classics skiers will have the opportunity to improve their rankings next Saturday when the sixth race, La Diagonela in Switzerland, takes place. The race is held at a high altitude, and the starting conditions could be quite challenging, as remembered from a few years ago when it was extremely cold. Kati Roivas will undoubtedly strive for another podium finish, and the other Finnish skiers aim to get closer to the top.