Among the Finnish men at the Kontiolahti World Cup, Olli Hiidensalo was the only one whose sprint race did not go wrong.
Tero Seppälä’s sieve is not in order. The shutter bangs especially when shooting vertically. Image from Thursday’s message. Kimmo Brandt / EPA / AOP
When the Finn was on the bench of the Kontiolahti stadium on Saturday, the tin banged. Five athletes, 50 shots and a total of 11 shots.
Tero Seppälä pulled two bombs from the vertical position in the World Cup 10 km sprint race.
– There was nothing miraculous about the shooting, so the mistakes couldn’t have been very big, Seppälä surprised, his lips round.
Last season, Haapajärvi’s wedge was at its best in the top ten games of the World Cup in Viides Ruhpolding with zero shooting. There were four places in the top 20 in two-shooting starts in addition to the first place. Only once in the competitions did Seppälä get more than zeros or one bomb: in Kontiolahti last spring, a balance of 2+0 resulted in 18th place and a gap to the winner of the competition Quentin Fillon to Maillet 59.4 seconds.
On Saturday in North Karelia, two bombs were only enough for 31st place. The winner who once went through the penalty round Johannes Bö was 1.48.4 more divers than Finns in the final stages.
– Skiing felt quite reasonable, but I just didn’t like the watch. Even in the first kilometer, which was easy terrain, there was too much of a gap. I can’t say what the problem is, Seppälä commented.
He was 1.20 behind the Norwegian winner in the cross-country skiing races, i.e. eight seconds per kilometer on average. It’s definitely too much. The Finn was 25th in the cross-country race.
A step forward
Olli Hiidensalo has already earned 4,500 euros in prize money this season. Ismo Pekkarinen / AOP
Olli Hiidensalo can be quite satisfied with his performance on the bench. Fines 1+0 are valid.
– When you get away with one fine, you have to be satisfied. Especially when you can stop at zero. The skiing just wasn’t as fast as the last few days. That’s why the ranking is not as high as I would like, Hiidensalo said.
He was in 33rd place (+1.50.2) in the final results. In cross-country skiing, the ranking was 43 and the difference to Johannes Bö’s pace was 1.39.0.
In the big picture, Hiidensalo, 31, has taken a step forward within a year. Last season, the best places in the World Cup speed races were 11th, 21st and 38th.
– Endurance sports are basically quite simple. I have stayed healthy and been able to do planned exercises. And certainly the competition performance shows that there has been an increase in heart rate shooting practice. Care has been taken in vertical shooting, commented Hiidensalo.
On average, it’s probably more comfortable to go around the World Cup as a points athlete than to be ranked and others…
– Ha, that’s how it is. And it’s nice if you get some euro in prize money.
Kontiolahti won 3,000 instead of the normal distance, 11, and 1,500 for the sixth place in the relay.
Two in pursuit
Tuomas Harjula rattled the plate twice and was 63rd (+2.35.5). Went to the penalty circle three times Heikki Laitinen was 71st (+2.49.8) and three penalties Jaakko Ranta ended up in 80th place (+3.07.5).
– It wasn’t the best day. Fines 1+2 were too much. There was certainly no radical mistake in the shooting. The two tight races below showed the load, so the nervous system was not in the same state as before, Ranta said.
The top 60 from Saturday can go to Sunday’s pursuit, so the Finns Seppälä and Hiidensalo will participate.
THE FACTS
Kontiolahti, men’s 10 km
1. Johannes Bö NOR 23.09,0 (1)
2. Sturla Lägreid NOR +10.5 (0)
3. Roman Rees GER +28.8 (0)
4. Sebastian Samuelsson SWE +36.2 (1)
5. Emilien Jacqueline’s FRA +39.5 (1)
6. Filip Andersen NOR +49.7 (1)
……
31. Tero Seppälä +1.48,4 (2)
33. Olli Hiidensalo +1.50,2 (1)
63. Tuomas Harjula +2:35.5 (2)
71. Heikki Laitinen +2.49,8 (3)
80. Jaakko Ranta +3.07,5 (3)