Tampereen Yritys was third in the Finnish Cup relay on Saturday in Rovaniemi. It is the first time that the Pirkanmaa team gets to the ball in the main event of the domestic skiing season.
Tampere Company trio Marko Kilp, Elmeri Toivanen and Walter Vinkanharju arranged a jymy surprise on Saturday in the 3×7.5 km relay of the Finnish Cup in Rovaniemi, when the blue and yellow team finished third.
– It tastes good. It was known that we have a good team in the free relay. And a lot of Finland’s top guys were gone, so we knew there was a chance to get a good ranking. But this came as a bit of a surprise, anchor Vinkanharju commented.
Among other things, the Puijo Ski Club Iivo Niskanen and Perttu Hyvärinen were gone, as was Ristomatti Hakola from Jämin Jänte. This paved the way for the people of Tampere to the podium.
The achievement is significant for Tampere and Pirkanmaa skiing. The Finnish Cup has been organized since the 2011–12 season, and never before has the men’s team from Tampere been in a three- or four-man relay.
The only time that a group from Pirkanmaa has reached the podium was at the Vantaa National Skiing Championships in January 2014, when Valkeakoski’s Haka duo Vesa Kallio–Juha-Matti Mikkolainen achieved the bronze medal in the pair relay.
– A really great thing for the club and this gives everyone a boost to start training for the next season, said Vinkaharju, who represents the Tampere club for the second season and is studying for a master’s degree in engineering at TUT in Hervanna.
Society of workers
As an anchor, Waltteri Vinkanharju brought a historic achievement to the Tampere Company in the Finnish Cup relay in Rovaniemi. Jussi Saarinen
Tampereen Yritys is a general gymnastics and sports club founded in 1899. The company is the oldest member club of the Työväen Urheiluliitto (TUL) in Tampere.
The political and geographical border fences have fallen down a long time ago, but in the past years Yritys and Tampereen Pyrintö were like a cat and a dog.
SVUL’s (Sports Association of the Kingdom of Finland) Purintö had focused its activities on the Kaup ski center in Tampere, and Yritys on the Lamminpää ridge ski area located in Western Tampere.
The trailer crew in a ruckus
Marko KIlp (left), Elmeri Toivanen and Waltteri Vinkanharju are the heroes of Tampere. Jussi Saarinen
At the moment, Tampere Pyrinnö has a cheerful women’s “representative team” in cross-country skiing and Yrytyksi in men’s.
– We have received a boosted activity. There are more men of the same age and level in the company. We’ve been to camps and competitions together, says Vinkaharju.
In the 2021–22 season, the Company was in the middle of an uproar, when a dispute arose with the Ski Association over Estonian skier Marko Kilpi’s representation permit.
In Rovaniemi on Saturday, Kilp got to show a long nose to the gentlemen of the Ski Association.
Finnish ski clubs have massive ski maintenance trucks at the Suomen Cup.
The people of Tampere really show the old wisdom: it’s not about size. The company’s jermuts operate with a tiny trailer in, for example, the Arctic Circle competitions.
– We have done well against big trucks. We don’t have to deal with maintenance, Vinkanharju announced.
The people of Tampere received 300 euros in prize money for Saturday’s feat. The Pyhäjärvi Pohti Ski Team, who won the race, received a ton, and the runner-up Imatra Athletes received 500 euros.
THE FACTS
Men’s 3×7.5 kilometer relay (v)
1. Pohti Ski Team 1
2. Imatra Athletes, +1.9
3. Tampere Company, +5.5
4. Vuokatti Ski Team Kainuu, +34.4
5. Ski Team 105, +34.6
6. IF Minken 1, +1.07,8
Pyhäjärvi Pohti won, Imatra Urheilijat was second and Tampereen Yritys third on Saturday at the Arctic Circle. Jussi Saarinen