Oftebro pips Lamparter in thrilling Gundersen finish as Riiber fades

Jens Luraas Oftebro surged to a stunning victory in the men’s Viessmann FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Gundersen in Schonach as fellow Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber faded in a dramatic cross-country race.

Defending champion Riiber led by nearly 39 seconds after 5.2km but a six-strong chasing group launched a stunning attack over the second half of the course.

Oftebro, Austrian duo Johannes Lamparter and Stefan Rettenegger, Ilkka Herola (FIN) and Germans Vinzenz Geiger and Julian Schmid reduced the gap to around 19 seconds over the next two kilometers before Riiber appeared to deliberately slow on the penultimate loop to conserve energy for the finish.

As his pursuers swallowed him up with 2km to go, Oftebro and Lamparter then broke clear, with the 24-year-old Norwegian proving the strongest to pip Lamparter in a thrilling finish.

It was Oftebro’s sixth individual World Cup victory, his first since the opening round of last season in Ruka and his second Schwarzwaldpokal after also winning in Schonach in 2023.

“It’s a really perfect day,” he said. “It was more than I expected - although I did a good jump, it is hard to catch up more than a minute. But I felt strong in the cross-country with really good skis and I was really happy I could beat Lamparter in the sprint."

Lamparter, the 2022-23 champion, had claimed Austria’s only individual podium of the season in Lillehammer in December and continued his return to form with his second here.

“It was quite a solid performance from the whole Austrian team on the hill and that gave me some self-confidence,” he said. “I was feeling good on the last lap and managed to set the attack but Jens was able to follow and was better at the end so he deserved the victory. But I am really happy with second place.”

Herola edged Stefan Rettenegger for the final spot on the podium, with Geiger finishing fifth and Riiber coming home sixth, ahead of closest challenger Schmid.

“It was exciting from the beginning," said Herola. "Finally once we were able to catch Jarl, it was five going for the victory. I was almost finished after the hill on the last lap so I’m very happy I managed to stay in third.”

After his 102.0-meter jump had earlier earned the lead with 145.7 points on the Langewald hill, Riiber (above) finished off the podium for the first time in Schonach but still extended his lead in the overall standings to 53 points over Schmid, with Geiger a further 12 points adrift and Oftebro 162 behind in fourth.

Riiber said he had only recently returned to training after a series of hospital checks during the four-week break.

“I had 12 days a little bit in and out of the hospital, trying to find out the problem with my health situation over the last three months,” he said. “Finally we have got some answers and I could go back to training but I have only had five days’ training to be at a high level.”   

Earlier in the jumping, Ryota Yamamoto’s stylish 98.0-meter effort earned him 135.7 points to take the lead before a resurgent Austrian team took over.

Olympic bronze medallist Lukas Greiderer was the first man to soar to 100.0m before Franz-Josef Rehrl matched that to score 139.7 points.

Thomas Rettenegger (above), one of the most consistent jumpers of the season, then took it out to 102.0m for 144.1 points.

That looked to be the best jump until Riiber, going last, also jumped 102.0m to take the lead, earning a six-second advantage heading into the cross-country.

Thomas Rettenegger was his closest challenger until the halfway point but faded over the second 5km to finish 17^th, more than a minute behind.

Sunday will see the men tackle a Compact event featuring an 8km race of four laps around the cross-country course.