An expert analyzes the situation of Iivo Niskanen, who withdrew from the Tour de Ski.
Cross-country skier Iivo Niskanen, 32, who suffered a lot of health problems during the previous two seasons, said on Friday that he got sick and was withdrawing from the Tour de Ski.
– It’s partly about luck, says Iltalehti’s skiing expert Reijo Jylhä.
He was the head coach of the Finnish A national team in 2014–18. Especially in the early years of the period, Niskanen suffered from health challenges during competition seasons.
When the native of Kuopio successfully skied the best skis of his career in the latter half of the last decade and in the 2021-22 Beijing Olympic season, he remained mostly healthy during the competition seasons.
– At that time in his life, Iivo was extremely focused on sports, says Jylhä.
The expert cannot find common factors for the illnesses of the mid-2010s and 2022–24.
– It’s a bit daring to point the finger, but changes in the family situation expose you to illnesses. Children easily bring infections home, and family celebrations like Christmas increase the risk, Jylhä comments on a general level.
Niskas has a spouse I get it with a son born in December 2022 and a daughter born in September 2024.
– The family brings a lot of positive things to life, but it also brings a lot of factors that are related to the risk of getting sick.
“The right solution”
Iivo Niskanen has fallen ill. PASI LEISMA
There is no public information about the details of the recent health challenge.
– Apparently, Niskasen had a strong desire to succeed in the Tour, so the absence is the only right solution. Now you have to be really careful with getting sick. If he got sick in the middle of the Tour, the World Championships starting at the end of February would be in danger, Jylhä says.
Jylhä remembers the 2014–15 Tour, when more than half of the Finnish team fell ill just before or during the tour. Iivo Niskanen was one of them.
– None of the patients recovered to full fitness by the 2015 World Championships in Falun.
Iivo Niskanen fell ill during the 2023–24 competition season, but by March he was on pace for the World Cup podium.
– Guys like Niskanen, who tend to get sick more often, tend to recover faster than those who get sick less often.
The World Cup skiing in Trondheim starts on February 26.