Lamparter doubles up in Lahti to clinch third overall behind new champion Geiger
Mar 22, 2025·Nordic Combined
Johannes Lamparter (AUT) made it a double triumph in Lahti (FIN) on the final day of the Viessman FIS Nordic Combined World Cup season as he followed up Friday’s win with another commanding Gundersen victory to seal third place in the overall standings.
The 2022-23 overall champion earned a 13-second lead for the cross-country after a superb 134.5m jump – the longest of the day - on the HS130 hill.
Lamparter doubled his advantage on the first 2.5km loop before Julian Schmid (GER) and Laurent Muhlethaler (FRA) gradually ate into his lead over the next two laps.
But they couldn’t get closer than around 13 seconds after 7.5km.
The 23-year-old Austrian stepped on it again to ultimately win comfortably in 23:09.0, 21.2 seconds clear of Schmid in second - his eighth podium of the season – and Muhlethaler, who earned only his second World Cup podium and first since Schonach two years ago.
A third individual World Cup win of the season, and his 17th overall, completed a fine end to the campaign for Lamparter, who missed out on an individual medal at the World Championships in Trondheim but who had two podium finishes in Oslo last weekend before his two victories in Lahti, where he also won a large hill Gundersen last year.
Only two points clear of Schmid in the overall standings heading into the final two competitions, the 23-year-old ultimately finished 32 points clear, the fourth successive year he has finished in the top three.
Despite a World Cup win proving elusive for a second successive season and missing out on the top three overall, Schmid declared himself happy with a fourth second place of the winter, after finishing third on Friday.
“It was a really good last weekend for me,” he said. “I struggled yesterday in the cross-country but today was much better. Johannes was a bit too strong today in the tracks; he deserved to win and to end in third place. But I am also satisfied with my season.”
Muhlethaler also finished on a high, a superb 128.5m jump on the hill giving him the platform to launch a podium charge, after a fifth place in Oslo last weekend.
Home hero Ilkka Herola, starting 37 seconds behind in eighth, quickly moved up to fifth and attacked on the second loop, closing to within a few seconds of the chasing trio of Schmid, Muhlethaler and Terence Weber (GER).
Herola caught Weber to move into fourth but the Finn’s efforts caught up with him on the third lap, losing 10 seconds as he briefly dropped to sixth while Schmid and Muhlethaler pushed on ahead.
Again roared on by a partisan crowd, Herola (above) found his second wind to launch a final-lap charge but left himself too much to do to make the podium and had to settle for fourth, as Schmid shook off Muhlethaler to claim second.
Herola’s memorable end to the season – he finished second on Friday after a maiden World Cup win in Oslo last week – saw him leapfrog Jens Luraas Oftebro (NOR) into fifth place in the standings.
Lamparter goes long on hill
After Friday’s jumping round was cancelled after the first 20 jumpers because of unstable wind conditions, a large crowd at the Salpausselkä venue were treated to a full competition in bright, sunny conditions on Saturday.
There were again some promising performances on the HS130 hill from younger athletes such as Chinese 20-year-old Haibin Fan (121.5 meters for 117.0 points) and 19-year-old Japanese Atsushi Narita (121.5m, 118.0).
Richard Stenzel (GER), as he had on Friday, laid down a challenging target with a 126.0m jump for 125 points which Marco Heinis (FRA) narrowly improved on (127.0m, 125.2) before compatriot Muhlethaler produced a joyously celebrated effort of 128.5m to take the lead on 130.1 points.
Weber’s stylish 126.0m jump – for 130.0 points – came closest to matching Muhlethaler, while Herola – grinning at the top of the hill as he took in the roars of his home crowd – put himself in the podium mix with 124.5m (124.1).
Schmid soared out to 130.0m (129.0 points) but Lamparter, going second from last, flew even further.
The Austrian’s 134.5m jump (above) earned him 133.4 points and a handsome 13-second lead.
“It was a really good jump,” he said. “It was really high on the last part of the jump and I was not able to to do the perfect landing, but it was still quite OK and put me in the perfect position.”
Geiger’s 118.5m effort was only good enough for 28th, a deficit of 1:53 on Lamparter.
The new overall champion was not able to replicate his surge on Friday, when he powered up from 29th to fourth, ending a memorable season in 15th place.
Geiger was presented with his first Crystal Globe after succeeding the great Jarl Magnus Riiber, who decided not to compete in Lahti after bowing out in Oslo last weekend.
Geiger also won the Compact Trophy while Germany took the Nations Cup ahead of Austria and Norway.
Five-time champion Riiber still finished second overall despite battling Crohn’s disease for much of the season.
The retiring Norwegian star was presented with the Best Jumper Trophy – finishing ahead of Franz-Josef Rehrl (AUT) and Lamparter – and the Mass Start Trophy, while compatriot Jens Luraas Oftebro collected the Best Skier Trophy.
Click here for full results from Saturday’s Gundersen.
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