The new names in Team Kaskipuu’s colours are Jasmi Joensuu, Katri Lylynperä and Ville Ahonen.

Olympians Joensuu and Lylynperä, Finland’s top female sprinters, will test their fitness for the first time in a long-distance race like Ylläs-Levi. For Ville Ahonen, who was 22nd in the Holmenkollen 50km race and participated in the Tour de Ski, Ylläs-Levi is also his first.

Team Kaskipuu’s pro team director Kari Varis does not want to put pressure on the athletes, but:

“I hope that one of the women will be in the top 10 and all of them in the top 20.”

For Jasmi Joensuu, the challenge is new, but she is familiar with the race course.

“The Ylläs-Levi section has been the “longest ski” of the season for our family for many years. My brother and I have skied the same track numerous times, but now I’m looking forward doing it with a bib on my chest. For me, it’s by far the longest I’ve ever skied, so it’s certainly a challenge. It’s going to be a tough day, but certainly a rewarding one,” anticipates Joensuu.

In addition to Joensuu and Lylynperä, Anni Kainulainen and Rebecca Immonen will carry Kaskipuu’s colours in the women’s race.

In the men’s race, in addition to Ahonen, Kaskipuu will be represented by Juuso Mäkelä, Miro Karppanen, Matti Kaski and Tuomas Mikkonen.

“Due to the depth and high level on the men’s field in Ski Classics finishing in the top 30 is an appropriate goal, but in a good day we could see a Kaskipuu skier even higher on the result list,” Varis says.

The 70-kilometer Ylläs-Levi will be skied on Saturday, April 9.

Event site: Ylläs-Levi

Next up in the Visma Ski Classics is Reistadløpet. The 50-kilometer classic long-distance race takes place in Setermoen-Bardufoss, Norway, on April 2, 2022.

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