Coming up: Men’s Season Opening in Ruka (FIN)

The FIS Nordic Combined World Cup season 2022/23 will start with the traditional season opening far up north from 24th to 27th November.

Close to the polar circle, Ruka welcomes the Nordic Combined Men for the 21st time.

The Finnish ski resort is known for its exciting but difficult venues. With a HS142, it’s the largest hill on the Nordic Combined World Cup calendar, that is often very windy, while temperatures can drop to -20°C.

The challenging conditions lead to many surprise winners in the past: Mario Seidl (AUT) surprised onlookers with his maiden win in 2018, Jens Luras Oftebro (NOR) in 2020 and Terence Weber (GER) secured his first victory in 2021.

This year, all eyes will be on Jarl Magnus Riiber again, who took his 3rd straight Ruka Tour title last season, although being disqualified on day two.

One of the greatest opponents of the Norwegian is his own team mate: Olympic medalist Jens Luras Oftebro, who showed his strength on Finlands large hill already last year, taking two third places.

Meanwhile, the Austrian team will bring World Champion and Overall World Cup second Johannes Lamparter, who came in second behind Riiber two times in Ruka last season.

Germany will challenge Riiber with their top stars around Olympic champion Vinzenz Geiger and last year’s winner Terence Weber. For the Finnish team, Summer Grand Prix winner Ilkka Herola and Eero Hirvonen will try to score important World Cup points on home soil.

As in the years before, the World Cup will start with the Opening Tour again. For the first time, the tour consists of two Individual competitions on Friday and Saturday, followed by a Mass Start on Sunday, with the Cross-Country distances of 5 km, 10 km and 10 km. 
Since no qualification is taking place, all athletes are allowed to start all parts of the competitions on all days. 
For each event, the normal amount of World Cup points is awarded and the athlete with the most World Cup points after these three events wins the tour.