Lamparter dominates Otepää Compact to extend lead
Jan 11, 2026·Nordic Combined
Yellow Bib holder Johannes Lamparter extended his lead in the Viessman FIS men's Nordic Combined World Cup standings with a dominant Compact victory in Otepää - his fourth win in nine events this season.
It was the Austrian’s 21st individual World Cup win overall and keeps him on course to regain the Crystal Globe he won for the first time in 2022-23.
The 24-year-old had put himself in pole position for victory after finishing second on the Tehvandi hill behind Ryota Yamamoto (JPN), whose 96.0-meter jump for 121.3 points proved the best of the day.
Lamparter, starting just six seconds behind in the cross-country, wasted no time in passing Yamamoto on the first of four 2km laps and managed to retain his lead throughout, stretching it to 20 seconds by the halfway point.
With so many strong skiers in the chasing pack, Lamparter – who finished second in Friday’s Mass Start before a late fall cost him a podium chance in Saturday’s Gundersen - might have expected an attack over the closing stages but none materialized as he won the 8km race in 19:55.2, 20.5 seconds ahead of the rest.
“I felt really good,” he said. “I kept the pace really, really high to make it as hard as possible for the guys behind. In the end I was just totally at the limit and hoping there was no big attack from behind."
Seven other athletes were locked in a scramble for the remaining podium places as Johannes Rydzek (GER) matched his second place from Saturday’s Gundersen, edging compatriot and defending champion Vinzenz Geiger, who finished third, in a sprint finish.
“It is the second time I am really happy this weekend,” said Rydzek. “From 2011 to now, Otepää is a place I love to come - nice winter conditions and a nice crowd. It was an amazing race to finish the weekend. I am super happy to share the podium with Vinzenz and Johannes.”
Geiger, who started the cross-country 33 seconds back in eighth, was also satisfied with just his second podium of a difficult season, having finished 10th on both the first two days in Otepää.
“I was sick for a week but now it is getting better and better so I am really happy to finish the weekend with a podium,” he said.
The fast-finishing Jens Luraas Oftebro (NOR), who started 1:10 behind, pipped brother Einar – winner of the Gundersen – on the line to take his third consecutive fourth place of the weekend, with home favorite Kristjan Ilves (EST) in sixth.
Smooth Yamamoto soars on hill
After two days when no jumping was possible due to the dangerous wind conditions, the men were able to compete on the Tehvandi hill again for the first time since Thursday’s PCR competitions.
Jiri Konvalinka (CZE) briefly hit the top of the leaderboard with a 91.0-meter jump for 109.4 points before compatriot Jan Vytrval (CZE) set a new marker with a 94.5m effort for 111.8 points.
Marco Heinis (FRA) beat that with a 93.0m jump (112.4 points) but the Frenchman barely had time to make it to the leader’s chair before a stunning 96.0m effort by Yamamoto (below), consistently one of the smoothest jumpers, garnered 121.3 points to take the lead.
That ultimately proved good enough to take victory on the hill, although a string of leading overall contenders also nailed good jumps to ensure another titanic tussle in the tracks with the set time differentials in the Compact format.
Defending overall champion Geiger had the longest jump of the day, 96.5m for 115.7 points, to leave himself 33 seconds to make up, three seconds less than Rydzek after his 94.0m jump (115.9), while Einar Luraas Oftebro was only 36 seconds back after a 93.0m effort.
But ahead of them a quartet of Austrians, only separated by Wendelin Thannheimer (GER) - who finished third on the hill with an excellent 94.5m jump but broke a pole in the tracks to finish 10th – were well placed to lead the cross-country charge.
Thomas Rettenegger (95.5m for 117.6 points), brother Stefan (94.5m, 117.7) and Martin Fritz (94.0, 116.3) all started within 26 seconds of Yamamoto, but Lamparter – jumping last in changing wind conditions – earned 119.1 points for his 92.0m jump to set the platform for another victory.
The men will return to World Cup action next weekend with two individual Gundersens in Oberhof, Germany.
