Geiger ends ’perfect weekend’ with back-to-back wins to keep title hopes alive

Vinzenz Geiger (GER) won the Men's Compact in the Viessmann FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Otepää (EST) with a dominant display on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Olympic champion finished off a 'perfect weekend' as he crossed the line 16 seconds before five-time overall winner Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR) in second place as Julian Schmid (GER) finished third.

"Two victories are better than my dreams," Geiger said.

"This was a perfect weekend. I had so much fun on the hill. The jumping victory yesterday was very special for me and today, again, a fight against Jarl."

Geiger had edged Riiber in a dramatic sprint finish in Saturday's Gundersen to claim his fifth victory of the season, 0.7 of a second ahead of the defending champion and overall World Cup leader.

In the last World Cup event before the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Trondheim, Norway, however, he made the margin a lot bigger as he cruised alone to claim back-to-back wins, making a strong statement ahead of this season's main event.

Hoping to avoid another sprint drama, Geiger, who had been second in the ski jumping, made a push early in the last of three cross-country laps and shook off Riiber to become the first skier to reach six victories this winter.

"Yesterday it was really tough and today as well," Geiger said.

"I decided to go (earlier) in the race and I think that was a good tactic."

On Saturday, Riiber had started the cross-country race four seconds behind Geiger, who had produced stunning effort of 101.5m – four meters further than anyone else – to win the ski jumping.

Losing the tight battle against the German in the tracks, Riiber had said he prefers to have a lead coming into the cross-country race and on Sunday, the Norwegian managed just that.

In the last jump of the competition round, Riiber jumped 102 meters and got 137.7 points to take over the lead from Geiger, who had just earned 135.9 points from a 100-meter jump.

"Everyone was laughing at the start yesterday because you saw me and Geiger," Riiber said after the ski jump.

"We were sprinting the first k (kilometer), going like maniacs, so it was a lot of fun to go with him yesterday. But it is nice to get that six-second lead and not be chasing."

The 7.5km cross-country race on Sunday started no differently as the top duo set off at a furious pace. When Geiger made a move in the third lap, however, Riiber did not have enough gas left in the tank to respond.

Afterwards, the 27-year-old Norwegian, who had won the Mass Start on Friday, said he had aimed to protect the second place rather than going for the win.

 "It was a terrible finish," Riiber said.

"I was going so fast to try to not give any motivation for Johannes (Lamparter, AUT) and Julian, because I felt a little bit weak when I was warming up."

Schmid, who had been fifth in the competition round with a 99-meter jump on Sunday morning, won a close battle for the last spot on the podium, 0.8 of a second before teammate Wendelin Thannheimer (GER) who managed to keep Lamparter in fifth place 10th of a second behind him.

"It was really good," said Schmid, 25, who landed his first podium of the weekend after being fifth in the Mass Start and fourth in the Gundersen.

Before the top duo Geiger and Riiber, with start numbers 55 and 56 respectively, claimed the top spot in the ski jumping, Thannheimer in bib 43 had nailed a jump of 97.5 meters to earn 132.7 points and spend most of the competition round's second part in the leader's chair.

Thannheimer, whose 95m jump on Saturday had led to a 14th place, was third best in the HS97 hill, only beaten by Geiger and Riiber, getting to start 12 seconds behind the winner.

The best conditions of the weekend on Tehvandi hill had made it an exciting competition round in the southern Estonian sunshine and within minutes of each other, Thannheimer, Espen Bjoernstad (NOR), Lukas Greiderer (AUT), David Mach (GER) and Thomas Rettenegger (AUT) all lined up top-10 performances.

Rettenegger came closest to Thannheimer with a 97-meter jump but had to settle for a fourth place in total on 131.5 points, finishing sixth in the cross-country race.

Schmid was 0.1 of a point behind him as Mach made it four Germans among Sunday's six best jumpers, starting the cross-country race 26 seconds behind the leader.

Johannes Rydzek (GER), in his 280th World Cup start, finished seventh in the Compact as Terence Weber (GER) made it five times Germany among the eight best. Norwegian brothers Jens and Einar Luraas Oftebro completed the top-10.

Riiber, who has announced his retirement after this season, still has the lead in the overall standings with two World Cup stages remaining. Geiger in second place however made the competition for the Crystal Globe a tighter one as he closed the gap to the leader to 81 points.

The Norwegian aiming for a record sixth overall title has 1,295 points against Geiger's 1,214, with Schmid in third place on 1,020 points.

Click here for full results from the Men's Individual Compact.