Lillehammer (NOR): Oftebro claims second World Cup win
Dec 03, 2022·Nordic Combined
Jens Luraas Oftebro is the winner of today’s men’s first Individual event in Lillehammer today, claiming the second World Cup victory of his career.
The Norwegian already jumped the furthest distance of the day with 99 meters (140.4 pts) in the morning at the Lysgårdsbakken and took the lead.
The same distance was reached by Ryota Yamamoto (99 m, 139.6 pts) from Japan, who started the cross-country race only 3 sec after Oftebro.
Rank 3 went to Austrian Mario Seidl with 98 meters and 138.3 points, 8 seconds behind.
Last seasons dominator Jarl Magnus Riiber (98.5 m, 135.0 pts) placed 4th (+22 sec), while Overall World Cup leader Julian Schmid from Germany (97.5 m, 131.6 pts) was on rank 6 (+35 sec).
Due to the short distances and a total of 11 athletes within the first minute, a tight fight for the podium could be expected for the 10km race in the afternoon.
Oftebro showed an impressive performance on narrow skis and had already put 17.3 seconds between himself and his pursuers after 2.5 km.
He was followed by a group of three with Jarl Magnus Riiber, Mario Seidl and Ryota Yamamoto, all of whom were trying to achieve a place on the podium. With a deficit of 1:14 minutes after 3.4 km, Vinzenz Geiger was still apparently unattainable in 14th place.
But the fast German, who was 18th after the Ski Jumping round, didn't give up and pushed his way forward place by place, while Riiber had left behind the immediate chasing group after 7.5 km and had reduced the distance to his teammate to 10.2 seconds.
Ultimately, he didn't manage to catch him, so Oftebro celebrated his second World Cup victory on home soil, 9.5 seconds ahead of Riiber in second place.
Meanwhile, a huge chasing group had formed, consisting of 13 athletes, who entered the stadium together within 2 seconds, all fighting for the last place on the podium.
Due to his sprint strength, Vinzenz Geiger (+39.2 sec) prevailed on the home stretch and secured 3rd place.
A 7th rank was not enough for Julian Schmid (+44.1 sec) today to defend his lead in the Overall World Cup, so that Jarl Magnus Riiber is the new owner of the yellow bib.
Result: Ind. Men HS98/10km SJ – 3.12.22 Lillehammer
Overall Result: Ind. Men HS98/10km – 3.12.22 Lillehammer
