Hagen powers to Schonach double to seal 10th straight win
Jan 19, 2025·Nordic Combined
Ida Marie Hagen beat Norwegian team-mate Gyda Westvold Hansen in a gripping women’s Compact competition in Schonach to seal her 10th consecutive women’s Viessmann FIS Nordic Combined World Cup victory.
Despite starting the cross-country 38 seconds back after only finishing 10th on the hill, Hagen powered through the field to catch early leader Hansen after 2km of the 6km.
But the two-time champion refused to buckle and stayed with Hagen until the closing stages before her compatriot powered away in the final kilometer to take victory in 17:05.5, with Hansen 18 seconds back in second.
It was Hagen’s sixth straight victory of the season, adding to the final four competitions of last season, and her 15th World Cup win in 18 events.
The fast-finishing Marte Leinan Lund made it a Norwegian lockout of the podium, having come from 22nd position, 1:05 back, after the jumping.
"I am glad to have them there with me and also (sister) Mille (Marie Hagen) had a good race as well (finishing 14th) so we are all really happy and will celebrate together,” Hagen added.
"Mari (Leinan Lund) is not here but hopefully the three of us being here on the podium gives her some motivation because we really miss her.”
Hansen, who has struggled with her jumping in the early part of the season, achieved her best result since a second place in Lillehammer in early December.
“It was a very nice day for Ida but it was more lucky for me that she was helping me through the course,” she said. “Ida is very strong so it was fun to get behind her.”
It was only Lund’s second World Cup podium finish and her first since Otepää (EST) in 2021. “It is so nice to be back on the podium, so it was just a perfect day here,” she said.
Nathalie Armbruster (GER), on her home snow, had an eventful cross-country race. Starting 33 seconds behind in eighth place, the 19-year-old caught Lisa Hirner – the leader after the jumping – and Japanese twins Haruka and Yuna Kasai after 2.5km but lost an edge and fell on a downhill section as the trio passed her.
Armbruster recovered well from that setback but couldn’t hold off Lund as she missed out on another podium to finish fourth – after a second place in Saturday’s Gundersen.
She remains Hagen’s closest challenger overall but the Norwegian star extended her lead in the standings to 135 points, with Haruka Kasai third and Hansen fourth.
As with the men’s competitors, the Austrians impressed on the Langewald hill with Annalina Slamik taking the early lead with a 90.0-meter jump for 118.4 points and Claudia Purker close behind on 117.3 after a 90.5m effort.
But Hirner’s stylish 95.0-meter jump (below) set a mark of 126.7 points that none of the top 10 in the rankings could improve on.
“I think it is the first time I start from the first position so my nerves are shaking, but I am very happy,” Hirner said after her jump.
Maria Gerboth (GER), leading the Best Jumper Trophy, had the longest jump with 96.0 meters for 119.4 points but the Kusai twins were closest to Hirner, with Yuna Kasai earning 124.8 points for her 95.5m effort and sister Haruka’s 94.0m jump scoring 121.5, leaving them with deficits of six and 12 seconds starting the cross-country.
Armbruster had the joint-fourth longest jump with 94.0m but her landing cost her a better points tally, leaving her with a tough cross-country deficit even before her untimely fall.
Hansen fared slightly better with her own 94.0m jump to begin the cross-country in fifth, 22 seconds behind, which she swiftly made up in the tracks.
There was also a new personal-best finish from American Alexa Brabec, who followed up her 10th place in the Gundersen with seventh in the Compact.
The women will return to competition in a fortnight in Seefeld (AUT) with their first ever World Cup ‘Triple’ – a Mass Start, Compact and Gundersen on successive days from 31 January to 2 February.
Click here for the full results from Sunday’s Compact.
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