Winter season opened in Lahti - All-clear for the COC
Mika Jukkara inspects the hill in Lahti - FIS
The next two Continental Cup competitions will take place in Lahti on the upcoming weekend. The large hill there was ready on Wednesday and some athletes, among them Janne Ahonen and Olli Muotka, used the opportunity for some training jumps.
The preparation of the facility was delayed due to difficult weather conditions with warm temperatures, storm and rain. "The crew of the city of Lahti spent long workdays at the hill and despite the difficulties the facility is in good condition. The situation concerning the snow could of course be better, but luckily we shouldn't have the same weather conditions as on Monday and Tuesday again, at least not before Sunday", said Mika Jukkara, chief of the competition in Lahti.
For the weekend Jukkara expects no major problems concerning the weather. "According to the weather forecast we expect temperatures around zero and south wind. This direction is ideal for us, because it comes from behind the main wind net."
Twelve jumpers will be on the Finnish team for Lahti. Sebastian Klinga, Sami Heiskanen, Anssi Koivuranta, Jarkko Maeaettae, Elias Vaenskae, Kalle Keituri, Villa Larinto, Mika Kulmala, Miika Ylipulli, Aapo Lehtinen and two more jumpers to be named later are on the team of coach Jani Klinga, who has high expectations for the home events. "It's realistic to expect that we will be in the Top 10, or even on the podium."
