The Finnish domestic cross-country season starts this weekend. Vuokatti hosts the opening round of the Finnish Cup on October 31 and November 1, marking the start of the series’ 16th season.

The weekend has two races. A freestyle sprint is on Saturday, and freestyle relays for women and men follow on Sunday. The races take place at the biathlon stadium in Vuokatti.

Big fields despite national team absence

The Finnish national team is currently training in Italy, but the opening weekend has still drawn large fields. According to the Finnish Ski Association, 100 women and 104 men have entered the sprint.

Anne Kyllönen, Eevi-Inkeri Tossavainen and Nora Kytäjä are among the women on the start list. The men’s field includes Ike Melnits and Olli Ahonen, who finished first and second in last year’s Vuokatti sprint. Otto Invenius is also entered, though he is better known as a biathlete.

The relays have attracted 38 women’s teams and 46 men’s teams. Team line-ups will be published on Saturday after the team captains’ meeting.

Hannu Koivusalo, Race Director of the Finnish Cup, is looking forward to the weekend.

“The team at the Vuokatti Sports Institute has once again done excellent work, considering how warm the weather has been. It’s certain that the conditions will be good this weekend and that we’ll get the race season off to a great start. Competitively, I’m especially pleased with the number of participants in the sprints, but even more so with the massive number of participants in the relays. After all, one of the key goals of the Finnish Cup has been that the clubs also compete against each other,” Koivusalo said in a statement from the Finnish Ski Association.

Last year’s winners

The season also opened in Vuokatti last year. Hilla Niemelä and Ike Melnits won the sprints. In the relays, Vuokatti Ski Team won the women’s race and Pohti SkiTeam won the men’s race.

Saturday: Freestyle sprint

The day starts with sprint qualification for women and men. After qualification, the top 30 athletes advance to the heats. The sprint course is skied twice.

Saturday, October 31 (local time)

• 07:00 Ski testing area opens
• 09:00 to 09:50 Sprint course open for warm-up
• 10:00 Sprint qualification, women and men (F)
• 11:20 to 11:55 Sprint course open for qualified athletes and pool companies
• 12:00 Heats, women and men
• Flower ceremonies and prize-giving after the races

The sprint start list can be found HERE – More information can be found HERE

Sunday: Freestyle relays

On Sunday, the women race 3x6km, and the men race 3x9km. Teams must confirm their running order by 16:00 on Saturday, and incomplete teams cannot start. According to the organizer, lapped teams will not be pulled from the race.

Sunday, November 1 (local time)

• 07:00 to 10:00 Ski testing area reserved for testers
• 10:00 to 11:50 Relay course open to competitors, conditions permitting
• 12:00 Women’s relay, 3x6km (F)
• 13:15 Men’s relay, 3x9km (F)
• 13:20 Flower ceremony and prize-giving, women
• 14:15 Flower ceremony and prize-giving, men

The relay start list can be found HERE – More information can be found HERE

Full race information is available on the Finnish Ski Association’s event page.

Also Read
Niemelä and Melnits claim opening Finnish Cup sprint victories in Vuokatti
Vuokatti Ski Team and Pohti SkiTeam claim first Finnish Cup relay victories of the season

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