We previously reported that three Latvian skiers managed to enter the top 50 in the freestyle sprint qualification at the first stage of the “Tour de ski” held today in Toblah. Patricija Eidukas did not lose much to the leaders and showed the 46th result, separating her from the quarter-finals by three seconds. The two best of our three representatives in the men’s competition, Lauris Kaparkalējs and Raimo Vīgants, also made it into the top 50, falling behind the quarter-finals by a little less than two seconds, taking 48th and 49th place respectively.
Patricija Eidukas has competed in the “Tour de ski” several times, and in this tour she also reached the highest places in the World Cup stages of the Baltic States since the times of the Estonian Kristīnes Šmigunas, but this year, for the first time in her career, she started the first starts of the season at the highest level directly on the tour.
Taking into account the situation that arose in autumn regarding overloads, it was necessary to expect that high-quality results cannot be expected from our excellent skier. But in the end, not much made the difference until the quarter-finals.
“Of course, to be honest, I don’t really like the place I’ve taken, I’m not satisfied with it, but the lag behind the leaders is not that big and it’s not bad, considering what I’ve been through in recent months,” says Patricija Eydukas.
“There is not much to say yet, but I would like to add that I also saw something positive in today’s competition,” reveals Eiduka.