Toblach/Oslo (Nitawisen): Harald Östberg Amundsen (25) and Erik Valnes (27) were Norway's top pair in Saturday's opening race, and the duo were previously considered Norway's top two cards in the second Tour d'Auto ski stage in Neu. On the eve of the year.
Until the last day of the year, the Norwegians had won all the men's long-distance races in the World Cup season. Then Finn Perto Heivarinen (32) struck like a comet out of nowhere in the 10km in classic style in Toblach.
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“We are about to suffer a knockout defeat,” Torgeir Bjorn said in an NRK radio broadcast.
The experienced Hyvarinen has never before been on the podium in a World Cup race, but on Sunday he gave Norwegian runners accustomed to winning a thought-provoking event.
After 25 consecutive victories in the long-distance race for the Norwegians, the 32-year-old from Kuopio stopped the complete dominance.
-I'm no longer a little runner. This means a lot, says Hivarinen to Netavisen.
Two Norwegians on the podium
It was also Finland's second win on the ski tour, with 35-year-old veteran Kirtu Niskanen winning the women's corresponding distance.
Joint hopes Valnes and Amundsen finished second and third among the men. But the pair were placed in the correct position with times of 16 and 17 seconds respectively.
However, NRK expert Frederic Auckland praised the two for achieving a good result, even though they had to see themselves clearly defeated.
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– All the Norwegians lose a surprising amount to Hivarinen, a runner they are used to overpowering, noted Viaplay expert Niklas Dierhaug who was somewhat surprised when the times started ticking along the way.
And when the weather conditions also started to change in favor of Hivarenen, who had an early starting number, the big surprise came true.
– Nothing can be blamed
Henrik Dønnestad (27) was seen as a potential podium candidate, but he did not have the chance on Sunday. He ended up about a minute and a half behind the winner, and outside the top thirty.
-It's very disappointing and boring when you get an opportunity like this on tour. I truly believed in the ability to fight high in the abstract. It's pretty much done now, Dunstad tells Netafcen.
– Really shitty day. “It felt heavy from start to finish,” Donstad says.
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Several Norwegians struggled on Sunday, sparking speculation about poor sleds, but Donstad says the sleds weren't the problem for him.
– There's nothing to blame, Donstad says.
-High potential
Eventually it became clear that Heyvarinen was a man to be reckoned with in the battle for victory. When light snow also began to fall on the track, the Finnish stuntman gained another advantage over the Norwegian competitors.
– This seems to be going Hivaarinen's way. It's high odds! Famous commentator Jørn Sundby at Viaplay.
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Amundsen opened the distance with a passing time of 2.3 kilometers which was just behind the best. Shortly afterwards, Valnis passed six-tenths of a second behind his compatriot.
Valnes crossed the finish line 16.2 seconds ahead of sensation Hyvärinen and thus took the overall lead in the Tour de Ski.
Amundsen finished 17.2 seconds behind the Finnish competitor, but still had a good starting point to go ahead overall in the Tour de Ski.
Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget was the third best Norwegian in the 10km race on Sunday. He finished eighth, 45.8 seconds behind the Finnish winner. Jan Thomas Jensen finished 17th, while Pal Gullberg finished 20th.
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