The second day of the Finlandia Ski Marathon offered sunny conditions with a temperature of –13°C. Victories in the Worldloppet and Ski Classics Challengers races went to Hilla Niemelä and Veeti Pyykkö in the free technique.

Sunday of the 53. Finlandia Ski Marathon began in slightly milder temperatures than Saturday. With the sun shining, an excellent race was once again skied among the elite group. In total, around 1,500 skiers started in the freestyle distances.

In the men’s race, 23-year-old Veeti Pyykkö claimed his first Finlandia victory with a time of 1:49:27.1. The race progressed almost to the final kilometers in a pack of just under ten skiers.

“The pace was quite steady, there weren’t any hard turns at the front. Everyone knew the positions would be solved at the end, and I tried to save everything for that,” said Pyykkö, while also enjoying the sunny and excellent skiing weather.

The leading group split for the first time on the downhill at the competition arena, where a few skiers from the front group fell, including Miro Karppanen. Pyykkö prepared especially for Karppanen’s sprint but was surprised when he didn’t see him coming.

Pyykkö’s preparation for the race did not go smoothly, as he slept very little the night before. However, the lack of sleep did not stop him on the course.

“For some reason I couldn’t sleep last night — maybe about 40 minutes in total — and I felt pretty rough this morning. In that sense, it was a positive surprise how the race went,” Pyykkö reflected.

Pyykkö was challenged by a strong field, including athletes who had missed out on the Olympic team. Some of the leading skiers had also raced on Saturday, and Pyykkö felt he had a slight advantage as a fresher competitor. He values the victory highly.

“The Finlandia Ski Marathon is a big and respected event in Finland, so it’s great to win. And the fact that there were strong competitors on the start line makes it even more valuable. You don’t get that many wins anymore in the open men’s class,” Pyykkö commented.

Markus Vuorela secured his second runner-up finish of the weekend, sprinting to second place as he did on Saturday. Topias Kemppi finished third.

Niemelä wins her first Finlandia – her father won in 2002

In the women’s race, Hilla Niemelä won her first Finlandia Ski Marathon with a time of 1:50:21.6. For much of the race, the leading group consisted of Niemelä, runner-up Katariina Lonka, and third-place finisher Oona Kettunen skiing together with Eveliina Piippo.

Niemelä praised the Sunday conditions at the Finlandia Ski Marathon.

“The track was good and it was pleasant to ski, and the weather was just right. The skis were good and my body worked well otherwise, but in the final sprint my thighs started to cramp a bit,” Niemelä said after the race, adding that she hardly remembers anymore what it feels like to ski on fast snow.

The women’s leaders skied together almost to the finish. According to Niemelä, there was plenty of room on the course, even though multiple laps were skied.

“We went along in good harmony, and there were some men helping to set the pace as well, and there was space on the finishing straight too.”

The victory marked the second Finlandia Ski Marathon win in the Niemelä family. Hilla Niemelä’s father, Ville Niemelä, won the Finlandia Ski Marathon in 2002.

For the remainder of the season, Niemelä lists the World Cup events in Falun and Lahti as her goals. The Lahti event, the Salpausselkä Games, will take place exactly one month from now.

Results, Sunday, Free