Riiber cruises to 75th World Cup win in Lillehammer

Norwegian star Jarl Magnus Riiber reasserted his authority in the men’s Viessmann FIS Nordic Combined World Cup with a dominant victory in Saturday’s Gundersen in Lillehammer.

The five-time overall champion, who won the opening Compact event in Ruka last week before finishing fourth and second in the other two season-opening competitions, laid the platform for a record-extending 75^th World Cup win with an outstanding ski jump.

Riiber soared to 101.0 meters, fully seven meters further than any other competitor, to earn 133 points and a huge 44-second lead heading into the 10km cross-country.

“I was very happy with that,” he said after the jump. “Usually I have a lot of self-confidence in what I do and at the moment I am quite far down in that self-confidence.

“So getting that big gap on the others was very important. It was nice to take out that big jump.” 

The 27-year-old, who has been battling stomach inflammation, had extended his advantage to 56 seconds after 3.8km of the 10km cross-country, with 2022-23 champion Johannes Lamparter (AUT) and Julian Schmid (GER) leading the chase.

Riiber took his foot off the gas late on as he coasted to a convincing win in 24:07.4 to finish 36.7 seconds clear of the field.

Riiber, who has now won five of the last six men’s World Cup competitions held in Lillehammer over the past three years, regained the lead in the overall standings, moving 40 points clear of Schmid and 78 ahead of previous leader Vinzenz Geiger (GER).  

Schmid, who earned two podium finishes in Ruka last weekend, and Lamparter – third overall in last season’s World Cup standings – had a thrilling sprint to the line with Schmid taking second in a photo finish, after both men were given the same time of 24:44.1.

“Johannes was going really hard and for the last 200 to 300m my legs were pretty heavy,” Schmid said. “It was a nice sprint and good for the spectators, so a lot of fun.”

Lamparter was also pleased at a first podium of the season as he returns to full fitness after a difficult off-season. “I am still struggling a bit on the hill but it was a really good cross-country performance and a really nice fight with Julian,” he added. “I am really happy as it seems my shape is coming back.”

Jens Luraas Oftebro (NOR) – 21^st after the jumping - came home fourth, with Kristjan Ilves (EST) and Joergen Graabak (NOR) making up the top six.

Earlier, Austria’s Franz-Josef Rehrl was the closest to Riiber (above) on the hill with a jump of 93.0m scoring 121.9 points, but faded to ninth overall after the cross-country.

Japan’s Ryota Yamamoto had taken the lead in the jumping with a fine 93.0m effort earning him 118.7 points, Norway’s Espen Bjoernstad (118.6) – who finished 10^th overall - and Austrian Martin Fritz (118.4) – who came home eighth - narrowly behind after the joint-second longest jumps of the day with 94.0m each.

Thomas Rettenegger’s (AUT) stylish effort earned him 119.7 points, the third best on the hill, but he ended 15^th after the cross-country.

Geiger (GER), who won the Ruka Trophy with three podium finishes including victory in the Mass Start, could only manage an 85.5m jump for 96.2 points, leaving him 2:27 behind heading into the cross-country. Geiger finished 29th overall.

The men will conclude the Nordic Combined weekend in Lillehammer by tackling the large hill on Sunday in a Compact event with a 7.5km cross-country run.

Click here for the full results from Saturday's Gundersen.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR) has now won five of the last six men’s competitions in Lillehammer over the past three years

• The five-time champion extended his own record to 75 World Cup victories, with his second win this season

• Riiber’s jump of 101.0 meters was seven meters further than any other competitor

• Julian Schmid (GER) earned his third podium of the winter in a photo finish, pipping Johannes Lamparter (AUT) for second with his last stride of the race

• Johannes Lamparter (AUT), the 2022-23 World Cup champion who finished third overall last season, earned his first podium of the season with third place

• Jens Luraas Oftebro (NOR), who finished fourth, narrowly missed out on a fourth podium finish in Lillehammer over the past three seasons, with a win and two second-place finishes in the Norwegian resort previously on his CV