Rettenegger wins maiden World Cup to break new ground for Austrians

Thomas Rettenegger hunted down and claimed his maiden World Cup win in the Men’s Mass Start Normal Hill at the Viessman FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Trondheim, following compatriot Katharina Gruber’s maiden victory in the women’s event on the same day.

This broke new ground for the Austrians who also saw Franz-Joseph Rehrl step up to the podium, after he claimed third after the Normal Hill, while 17-year-old Gruber made history by becoming the first Austrian woman to win a World Cup competition and the youngest woman to win a World Cup.

Of Gruber’s record-breaking performance Rettenegger said: “It’s just awesome. As we saw that she won hers we were really happy and I think that helped as well, so we just had fun.”

And on his own maiden win he added: "It feels unbelievable. There’s so much work and luck and everything to get up there on the first place and I can’t believe it yet.”

Rettenegger fought hard at the start of the Mass Start but finished the race in fourth, before he laid down a 100-meter jump to earn him a table-topping 125.3 points, putting pressure on race leaders Johannes Rydzek (GER), and Norweigians Jens Luraas Oftebro and Aleksander Skoglund, to perform in the jump.

All three race leaders fell away in the Normal Hill however, with Wendelin Thannheimer (GER) placing second with 121 points to claim his first World Cup podium and Rehrl posting 120.6 points for third after the jump.

The athletes enjoyed fine conditions which was in stark contrast to the strong winds experienced in Ruka, Finland, that forced the cancellation of the Mass Start on the final day of the opening competition which meant this was the first time they were able to compete in the race this season.

After the retirement of five-time overall men’s champion Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR) before the end of last season due to his Crohn’s disease diagnosis, many athletes were looking to start their own winning streak.

Rettenegger, who finished behind Riiber in the 2023-24 season, has been in good form with two wins in the Summer Grand Prix Series. He attempted to stretch the field from the front early on before being caught and overtaken by Samuel Costa (ITA) and the rest of the chasing pack at 3.7km.

Rettenegger fought his way back by the halfway mark but was again unable to stretch his lead enough to fend off Norwegian Einar Luraas Oftebro, who overtook him at 7.5km with brother Jens Luraas Oftebro following up behind Rettenegger.

After a short-lived lead from Skoglund at 8.7km, it was eventual winner of the race, Rydzek, who had been biding his time further back in the group before creeping up to fourth and then sprinting into the lead in the final few kilometers. Jens Luraas Oftebro also made a surge to the line to finish in second +0.7 behind with Skoglund in third.

Rydzek had been inspired to make the bold sprint by his sister Coletta Rydzek, after watching her compete in the Cross-County Sprint Classic the previous day.

In the Normal Hill, Ilkka Herola (FIN) jumped 94.5 meters to score 118.7 points, before Rehrl, who won the Provisional Competition Round, jumped 97.5 meters, putting him in the lead before Thannheimer, and then Rettenegger immediately after.

Despite another Austrian Johannes Lamparter arriving in Trondheim on a high after winning the two competitions at the men’s opening weekend in Ruka, his 97 meters earned him 114.1 points to finish in sixth place.

Olympic champion and defending overall champion Vinzenz Geiger, much like German compatriot Nathalie Armbruster, struggled to win in Trondheim, finished in 19^th place with 105.2 points. While Armbruster felt the effects of a virus going into competition, Geiger sustained a foot injury in a weight training incident which caused doubt over whether he would be able to compete at this World Cup event.

Sora Yatchi (JPN) was disqualified for a suit infringement after the Normal Hill.