An incredible benefit for Therese Johaug: “You rarely see it in women”

The women’s Tour de Ski, for the two leading women, could be decided by the Norwegians’ considerable luck with the peese.

Tuesday’s 20 km free split start Astrid Slind and Therese Johaug broke Kerttu Niskasene’s gap in the gentle downhill of the latter half with the pees advantage.

On Wednesday, the trend continued, when they got an incredible advantage on the tide on the sky alone Kerttu Niskase in relation to.

– In the fast-paced descent, Kerttu missed every lap. Kerttu was able to keep the difference from the 1.6 kilometer intermediate point until the end of the lap to five kilometers almost the same, but on the downhill part the difference became almost 10 seconds per lap. The Norwegians certainly had slippery skis on Wednesday, says Iltalehti’s skiing expert Reijo Jylhä.

A huge advantage

At the start of Wednesday’s race, Niskanen started 21 seconds behind Slindi and 17 seconds behind Johaug. At the finish line, the difference between the top women was 57 seconds.

– The Norwegians knew how to take advantage of the tide. It’s rare to see such a well-functioning rotation in a women’s race. At the traditional moment, they are such evenly matched skiers that neither of them gets too tight.

The peesi benefit is significant in cross-country skiing.

– Because of that, the group goes harder, because the air resistance is reduced behind. Let’s be able to ski harder for a while. In the group, the speed increases when the drive is changed and it is much easier to get behind.

When skiing with a group, the leader must be changed every 30 seconds in order to get the maximum benefit from the skis.

– The one coming from behind seems to push the one in front forward, even if you don’t push with the stick.

Game clear?

The Finn, who is third overall in the Tour, is 28 seconds behind Slind. Johaug has been a leader for six years Jessie Diggins 61 seconds away.

It is very likely that the overall competition of the Tour will be between Norwegian members.

– Friday’s sprint creates the final predictions for this setup. With Sprint credits, Kerttu can still reach good distances. The last two races will go to Johaug’s strengths. Although Johaug is really tough on the final climb, Slind is very tough on the stump, so I wouldn’t share the win yet.

Problems

Diggins is suffering from some kind of health problem.

– Traditional skiing causes discomfort, but walking is even more annoying, Diggins said.

Jylhä says without knowing the background that “it may sound bad”.

– If walking is problematic, it refers to the hip, and not so much the side, comments the expert.

Also Johanna at Matintalo there are problems. The Rovaniemi resident’s right calf injury recurred on Wednesday.

– Cramps and mild spasms like that may take time to heal. If there is some kind of scar tissue, it may bother you for a long time. A painful and difficult problem, although usually not very serious, according to the expert.

Pärmäkoski softened

Rankings 24th, 10th, 11th and 12th in the four stages. Tenth in the overall standings of the Tour Krista Pärmäkoski has been a disappointment, at least for the bystanders, on this year’s tour.

– It was definitely expected that in those games I would have been able to make a better result at least somewhere. Today was also a great place to ski, says Jylhä.

– I don’t know how much the focus is on the Tour or whether the intention is to be in as good shape as possible at the World Championships. Krista has obviously practiced a lot. It may be that the condition is good, but it is hidden.

Pärmäkoski said he was satisfied with the first three starts of the tour, but on Wednesday he got tired.

– Krista’s challenges started on Sunday at the mass start of the traditional 15 km, when she fell off the top group in the second 5 km lap, Jylhä says.

Swedish bang

The Swedish team, which was in the Netherlands, organized a bang on Wednesday, when Edvin Anger accelerated to second place in the 15-kilometer traditional pursuit and was crowned king in the final stretch Johannes Klæbon.

– Klæbo had slippery skis, but he had no differences with Anger. Everything has clicked into place for Anger, in contrast to other Swedes. It was the best finish on the standard distance, so the condition is also good.

Harald Amundsen won Wednesday’s race, but the difference in the overall standings of the Tour is 57 seconds in favor of the king. Anger is 36 seconds behind Klæbo, but he will freeze in the Saturday and Sunday stages.

If and when Klæbo wins Friday’s sprint, the Tour seems to be settled.

– Amundsen didn’t look as sharp as on Tuesday. If you really got the most out of yourself on Tuesday, the muscles didn’t have time to recover. Amundsen showed that the skiing was not as aggressive as on Tuesday.