Athlete of the Week: Jens Lurås Oftebro (NOR)

What a weekend it was for 20-year-old Norwegian Jens Lurås Oftebro. Not only did he prolong his podium streak in Ruka (FIN) to four third places on Friday, he overcame a crash in the jumping round to still finish tenth on on Saturday but he also set his first-ever World Cup victory on Sunday - a true roller-coaster of emotions.

Two podiums in three events, including one victory would be a fair reason to call Oftebro “Athlete of the Week” already but the manner in which the 20-year-old stepped in for team leader Jarl Magnus Riiber, who was sidelined in Sunday’s event due to a disqualification in the PCR on Thursday, that made his performance impressive.

Starting from rank two after the ski jumping round was nothing out of the ordinary for Oftebro - he is known as an absolutely talented ski jumper after all - but the confidence and strength with which he claimed the win had some onlookers do a double take. With four athletes charging up the big ascent into the stadium and Fabian Rießle being one of that group, a big part of the fans probably had put their money on the fast German, a compelling sprinter.

Oftebro, however, did not leave the barest chance to Rießle and sped up the hill so fast, that the gap on the final stretch was too big for a sprint: 1.9 seconds separated Oftebro from Rießle at the finish line. A feat that probably not many athletes have been able to pull off against notorious fast finisher Rießle over the years.

20-year-old Oftebro beating 29-year-old veteran Rießle is also a hint towards something of a generation change in Nordic Combined: even though older athletes like Rießle, Watabe or Frenzel did stand on the podium in Ruka, Riiber and his even younger colleagues Lamparter and Oftebro showed that the young generation is slowly closing the gap.