Italy triumphs in thrilling six-nation battle

The men’s Team Sprint at the FIS Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix in Chaux-Neuve turned into a thriller, with nine teams from six nations fighting for victory and Italy I celebrating a sensational comeback win.

The morning Ski Jumping round on the La Côté Feuillée HS118 hill took place under clear blue skies. Germany I, represented by Richard Stenzel (109 m) and Johannes Rydzek (109.5 m), collected 226.3 points and secured the lead, giving them the advantage of starting first into the 2x7.5 km roller ski relay.

Team Czechia followed in second after Jan Vytrval (109.5 m) and Jiri Konvalinka (114 m) jumped strongly for 223.5 points, starting just 4 seconds behind. Austria I, with Christian Deuschl (105 m) and Florian Kolb (107.5 m), tied with France I’s Laurent Muhlethaler (105 m) and Marco Heinis (111 m) at 215.1 points, so both teams began their race 15 seconds back.

The race quickly developed into a close battle. Stenzel and Vytrval stayed together on the first lap, handing over to Rydzek and Konvalinka only 0.3 seconds apart. Behind them, Heinis overtook Deuschl, sending Muhlethaler out in third position at 1.5 km, just 7.8 seconds behind the leaders, with Kolb another 0.4 seconds back. Working together, Muhlethaler and Kolb closed the gap, and by the 3 km exchange all four teams entered the zone together.

The same pattern repeated over the next laps: Czechia, Austria I, Germany I and France I skied as a tight pack, handing over together at 4.5 km and again at 7.5 km, separated by only 0.8 seconds. Behind, a chasing group with Slovenia I, Italy I, France II, France III and Germany II worked effectively, reducing the deficit to just 5 seconds after 9 km.

The exchange zone became crowded as the chasers finally joined the front, creating a mass group of nine nations battling for the win. By 12 km, eight nations remained in contention, all within 2.6 seconds, with France II’s Matteo Baud leading the large field.

At the final exchange, Italy’s Samuel Costa launched a decisive attack. In his comeback season after retiring last year, Costa managed to open a small gap. Rydzek tried to follow for Germany I, but the Italian held firm and crossed the finish line first, securing a memorable victory for Italy I.

Germany I claimed second place only 1.3 seconds behind, while Maël Tyrode secured third for France III, 3.5 seconds back. Austria I narrowly missed the podium in fourth, finishing 4.2 seconds behind the winners.