Coming up: Men’s World Cup in Lahti (FIN)
Mar 01, 2024·Nordic Combined
After a two-week break, the best male Nordic Combined athletes will travel to Lahti (FIN) to start the fourth and final period of the 2023/24 season.
Even though the Overall World Cup has already been decided with Jarl Magnus Riiber being the winner with a lead of 449 points, also claiming the Best Jumper Trophy, there are still important points to claim in the Nations Cup and the Best Skier Trophy.
In addition to a Team Sprint on Saturday, the program also includes a classic Gundersen competition on Sunday. After Lillehammer (AUT), the men are now also returning to the large hill for both events.
With superstar Riiber not on start, the return to the large hill will especially make all other strong jumpers in the field happy, who have high chances of a victory with the top favorite not participating on the HS130.
In particular, the Austrian team around last years overall champion Johannes Lamparter has proven their dominance on the hill again and again this season.
With the Rettenegger brothers Thomas and Stefan as well as top jumper Franz-Josef Rehrl, four Austrians can present flights over hillsize in order to gain valuable seconds on the cross-country course.
From Japan, last year's Best Jumper Trophy winner Ryota Yamamoto is particularly known for his flying skills and, like Estonian Kristjan Ilves and Joergen Graabak from Norway, who gained his old jumping strength back this season, will try to limit Austria's dominance.
In the Team Sprint last year, alongside the expected Germans and Norwegians, France was also able to reach the podium, so they will try to duplicate the good result again this year.
But due to their strong team performance, the Austrians are considered favorites for the sprint victory.
From a German perspective, hopes rest on Johannes Rydzek and Manuel Faisst, who were able to deliver the most consistent performances this winter.
Meanwhile, the Finnish fans can look forward to the full commitment of their local heroes Ilkka Herola and Eero Hirvonen, who will also try to achieve a top placement on home soil.
