Sommerfeldt and Kolb shine at COC in Klingenthal
Jan 15, 2026·Nordic Combined)
The men’s Nordic Combined Continental Cup stopped in Klingenthal (GER) from 9–11 January 2026, featuring three competition days on the HS140 large hill in the Vogtlandarena.
A total of 51 athletes from 14 nations lined up for one Individual Compact on Friday, followed by two Individual Gundersen events on Saturday and Sunday. The weekend delivered exciting ski jumping and decisive cross-country races, with Germany’s Tristan Sommerfeldt and Austria’s Florian Kolb emerging as the standout athletes.
Friday – Sommerfeldt shows strong catch-up race
Norway’s Alvin Le took the lead after the ski jumping round, producing the longest jump of the day with 132 meters and 115.8 points. Slovenia’s Matic Garbajs followed with 129.5 meters (113.1 points), starting the cross-country race six seconds behind due to the fixed starting times of the compact format. Switzerland’s Finn Kempf sat third after jumping with 129 meters (112.8 points).
The 7.5 km cross-country race dramatically reshuffled the field. Germany’s Tristan Sommerfeldt, who had been only 19th after jumping, delivered an outstanding skiing performance and worked his way to the front to claim victory, securing the second Continental Cup win of his career. Norway’s Torje Seijeset finished second, just 3.9 seconds behind, after starting the race from 14th position. Austria’s Jonas Fischbacher completed the podium in third place, 6.3 seconds behind Sommerfeldt.
Saturday – Kolb celebrates first COC victory
The second competition day featured an Individual Gundersen. Swiss youngster Finn Kempf showed the strongest jump of the day, flying to 137 meters, just three meters below hill size, and winning the jumping round with 127.8 points. Austria’s Florian Kolb followed extremely close behind with a jump of 134.5 meters and only 0.1 points less, meaning both athletes started the 10 km cross-country race at the same time. Slovenia’s Matic Garbajs placed third after jumping with 130 meters, starting 13 seconds behind the leaders.
On the cross-country course, Kolb proved to be the strongest skier and pulled away to secure the first Continental Cup victory of his career. Germany’s Tristan Sommerfeldt backed up his win from the previous day with another strong performance, finishing second, 29.5 seconds behind Kolb. Austria’s David Thuer completed the podium in third place, 40.5 seconds behind his teammate. Despite winning the jumping round, 19-year-old Finn Kempf finished ninth overall, still celebrating the best Continental Cup result of his career.
Sunday –Kolb completes the double
The third and final competition day brought another Individual Gundersen. Norway’s Henrik Hilmarsen took the lead after ski jumping with a jump of 129 meters and 116 points, earning a narrow one-second advantage over Florian Kolb, who followed in second place with 132 meters and 115.7 points. Norwegian teammate Alvin Le ranked third after jumping with 132 meters and 109 points, starting the race 28 seconds behind Hilmarsen.
Once again, Florian Kolb dominated on the cross-country course. The Austrian overtook Hilmarsen and crossed the finish line first, securing his second Continental Cup victory in a row. Hilmarsen dropped only one position to finish second, 20.9 seconds behind Kolb, while Alvin Le successfully defended his third place until the finish, crossing the line 1:02.7 minutes behind the winner.
