Stefan Rettenegger celebrates first Grand Prix win

The men’s FIS Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix 2025 opened in spectacular fashion in Oberstdorf, where Austria’s Stefan Rettenegger stormed through the field to claim his maiden Grand Prix victory.

The Ski Jumping round on the HS137 in Oberstdorf’s Orlen Arena was dominated by Stefan’s older brother, Thomas Rettenegger. With a powerful jump of 134.5 meters (165.8 pts), Thomas secured the lead and was first to start the 7.5 km roller ski race through Oberstdorf’s streets. Close behind, teammate Johannes Lamparter landed at 128 meters (161.9 pts), just six seconds back, while Germany’s Wendelin Thannheimer followed in third with 130 meters (160.2 pts), 12 seconds adrift. The day’s longest jump came from Austria’s Florian Kolb, who flew 139.5 meters but sat only 9th after scoring.

As the women had earlier in the evening, the men also had to brave torrential rain, which made for a dramatic race. Thomas Rettenegger initially controlled the pace, holding Lamparter at 6.2 seconds after 3 km. But from behind, Stefan Rettenegger, who had been 6th after the jumping round, began to close in. By 4.1 km, he was only 6.2 seconds off the lead in fourth, chasing Thannheimer and Lamparter. One lap later, Stefan surged past them all, overtaking his brother at 6.8 km to take command.

While Thomas began to lose ground, Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger set the crowd alight with one of his trademark comebacks. Starting only 21st after the hill, Geiger tore through the field, cutting the deficit to just 12.1 seconds after 6.8 km. Thannheimer dropped back, and the battle for the podium came down to Geiger and Thomas Rettenegger, who fought shoulder-to-shoulder until Geiger edged ahead with a brilliant sprint on the final climb.

At the front, Stefan Rettenegger stretched his lead over the final lap and crossed the line in style, winning his first ever Summer Grand Prix race with a margin of 19.1 seconds.

Geiger delighted the home fans by finishing second after his remarkable charge, while Thomas Rettenegger held on for third, 21.3 seconds behind his victorious younger brother.