Finlandia-Hiihto

The winner of Finlandia Ski Marathon had to stretch himself while on the way!

Juho Mikkonen from Squeezy Team Finland won the classic style race of Finlandia Ski Marathon in Lahti, Finland. He won ahead of Mikko Koutaniemi and Kari Varis, top three was within two seconds.
There were five athletes fighting hard about the podium places in the final straight. The first one crossing the finish line was originally Ari Luusua but he was disqualified because of using skating style in a classic style race. This happened also to Antti Lampinen who was originally fifth – he was also disqualified.
As the weather already produced minor problems, Mikkonen had some additional worries.

“It was okay until 46 kilometers, then a lot of stuff happened and I had to even stretch myself while skiing”, said Mikkonen after the prize giving ceremonies. Victory felt great for Mikkonen, even though the conditions on the track were very challenging and the natural snow felt very soft.
“I had a good run to the finish line”, stated Mikkonen. He had a 500km drive to his home after the race.
The placements for Finlandia Ski Marathon weren’t resolved during the race. The local public hold their breath until the end.

Mikko Koutaniemi came second. “That was all I had today”, said Koutaniemi right after crossing the finish line. Kari Varis (Team Kestävyysurheilu.fi) who has won the Finlandia Ski Marathon nine times came third today.
“It was quite okay, but I am a bit upset about losing the race in the finish line”, said Varis. A lot of people spoke about the difficult circumstances, but the veteran of Finlandia Ski Marathon said that in the leading group the skis were working fine for everyone. Third place was fine for him, but Varis wants more. The 10th win of Finlandia Ski Marathon could come sometime soon. “Hopefully tomorrow”, he smiled.

Women’s race was won by Heli Heiskanen, who was cleary in class of her own. She is heading to Vasaloppet and Finlandia served as fine preparation for that. Total of 2404 skiers were registered for 50 km.
On Sunday there is 50 km free technique race and 20 km free technique race in the programme.

Photos on Finlandia Facebook