Finnish Pro Team athletes near the Ski Classics top
Finnish Pro Team skiers have raised their level, and the results from the past weekend are a positive sign. In the Ski Classics Pro Team Tempo, Team Edux was in 12th place, followed by Team Kaski-Ekovilla in 13th place. Team Mäenpää finished 21st. In the Criterium race on Sunday, the best Finnish athlete was Kati Roivas, who finished in sixth place, representing the Swedish Pro Team Team Eksjöhus. Oona Kettunen of Team Kaski-Ekovilla was an impressive 10th, and Juuso Mäkelä from the same team secured 15th place, achieving the best men’s result since Ari Luusua’s success and Victor Mäenpää’s 15th place at the Jizeská50 race in 2019.
“Sunday’s race was quite challenging for me, as my fitness condition isn’t currently suitable for peak performance. Considering that, the result was good, and the teamwork was so fantastic that this weekend was still a positive one,” Kati Roivas admitted to Maastohiihto.com.
In the women’s race, Emilie Fleten of Team Ramudden secured victory with a strong performance, breaking away from the rest early on. After Roivas and Kettunen, the third-best Finnish female skier was Fanny Kukonlehto of Team Kaski-Ekovilla, finishing 24th. Amanda Nyfors from Team Mäenpää was 28th, Vilma Kanerva from Team Mäenpää was 47th, Niina Virtanen represented the Danish team Danish Marathon Ski Team and finished 48th, and Wilma Lax from Team Edux was 55th. Team Edux’s Swedish reinforcement, Sofia Lindberg, finished 16th.
“It was great to see that I could stay in the podium fight for a long time. However, the missed training sessions due to illness in early winter showed, and my muscles tired prematurely. Nevertheless, I believe this race was good training for La Venosta, where I hope to maintain a good pace all the way to the finish,” Oona Kettunen said from Livigno, Italy, where Team Kaski-Ekovilla has relocated for training ahead of the weekend’s challenge.
In the men’s race, a fierce final sprint battle involving five skiers took place, with Kasper Stadaas of Team Ragde Charge emerging as the fastest on the final straight. Juuso Mäkelä of Team Kaski-Ekovilla was among the leading pack for a long time, and high-altitude skiing suits him excellently.
“I was in good form, and skiing felt effortless. We had really effective skis, and it was enjoyable to ski with them. La Venosta should suit me well since it’s also held at a high altitude,” Mäkelä stated during his training break in Livigno.
Following Juuso Mäkelä’s 15th place, the next best Finnish skier was Viktor Mäenpää from Team Mäenpää in 33rd place. Veli-Matti Räsänen from Team Kaski-Ekovilla was 37th, Isac Holmström from Team Edux was 54th, and Olli Tyrväinen, also from Team Edux, was 57th.
Young skier Väinö Kotro from Team Kaski-Ekovilla finished 76th, and Hannes Mäenpää was 80th.
Team Edux’s Pro Team Director, Kari Varis, was quite satisfied with his team’s performance.
“We succeeded well as a team, with Fanny and Veli-Matti also skiing very well. The biggest teams were at high altitude preparing for the season opener, so considering that, we were in good shape even though we traveled directly to the competition venue. La Venosta should suit us well if we perform as well as we did in Bad Gastein,” Varis commented while observing his team’s training in Livigno as they prepared for La Venosta.
Team Edux’s captain, Olli Tyrväinen, shared a similar perspective when discussing his team’s performance in Austria.
“The opening weekend was definitely a positive one for the team. Saturday’s race went excellently for us, and on Sunday, the athletes performed well at their baseline level. It seems that due to the fluorine ban, the differences in ski equipment have become more pronounced. With top-quality skis, it’s possible to make bigger differences than before. In this competition, we were very competitive, and now we continue testing over Christmas to be ready in January.”
Only Isac Holmström from Team Edux will compete in the La Venosta races in Italy, and he was in Livigno preparing for the two tough races this weekend.
Finnish skiers took a big step towards the top ranks this weekend, and if the support continues for the teams, we can expect good results from the Finnish ski heroes in the upcoming weekend and throughout the winter.
The Season XV of Ski Classics Pro Tour consists of 15 events on 11 event weekends in 6 different countries.
Read More: La Venosta Criterium & ITT this weekend in Italy
Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XV (2023/2024)
- Event 1: December 9, 2023 – Bad Gastein PTT, Austria, 13km
- Event 2: December 10, 2023 – Bad Gastein Criterium, Austria, 36km
- Event 3: December 16, 2023 – La Venosta Criterium, Italy, 37km
- Event 4: December 17, 2023 – La Venosta ITT, Italy, 10km
- Event 5: January 13, 2024 – 3 Zinnen Ski Marathon, Italy, 62km
- Event 6: January 20, 2024 – Engadin La Diagonela, Switzerland, 56km
- Event 7: January 28, 2024 – Marcialonga, Italy, 70km
- Event 8: February 11, 2024 – Jizerská50, Czech Republic, 50km
- Event 9: February 17, 2024 – Grönklitt Classic, Sweden, 60km
- Event 10: February 18, 2024 – Grönklitt ITT, Sweden, 13km
- Event 11: March 3, 2024 – Vasaloppet, Sweden, 90km
- Event 12: March 16, 2024 – Birkebeinerrennet, Norway, 54km
- Event 13: April 6, 2024 – Reistadløpet, Norway, 50km
- Event 14: April 7, 2024 – Summit 2 Senja, Norway, 60km
- Event 15: April 13, 2024 – Ski Classics Grand Finale – Janteloppet, Norway, 100km
More information about the Ski Classics Pro Tour can be found at skiclassics.com