Riiber reigns supreme in Otepää Mass Start to extend World Cup record

Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR) pulled out another remarkable jump to claim his fifth win of the season in Friday’s Mass Start in Otepää (EST) and extend his own record of individual victories to 78 in the Viessmann FIS Nordic Combined World Cup.

The five-time champion was strongly favoured to prevail after a closely-contested 10km cross-country race in which he finished second in a sprint finish with closest rival Vinzenz Geiger (GER).

That left Riiber trailing Geiger by just 0.1 of a point heading to the HS97 hill, where first Ilkka Herola (FIN), with a 96.0-meter jump, and then Johannes Lamparter (AUT) set a new target of 126.9 points with a 96.5m effort.

But Riiber, who also won Thursday’s PCR, soared out to a stunning 102.5 meters, fully six meters further than anyone else, to beat Lamparter by more than 10 points with a score of 137.

It also confirmed the 27-year-old as the winner of this year’s Mass Start Trophy, with Friday the last of the season’s four events in the ‘reverse’ format, the only one where the cross-country precedes the ski jumping.

“I was a little bit nervous seeing Vinzenz in quite a good position on the flight, I was thinking it would be tight, but it is amazing to take one (crystal) globe. I am very happy to achieve that,” Riiber added.

Geiger, going last, pulled out a 97.0m jump – the second furthest of the day – to finish third, his ninth podium in 12 events this season, and limit the damage in his fight for the overall title.

But it still left him 101 points adrift of Riiber going into Saturday’s Gundersen with a Compact to follow on Sunday.

“It was a really good cross-country race today and it was a great jump as well,” Geiger said. “Getting on the podium on the first day is a really good start for me.”

Geiger pips Riiber in final sprint

Buoyed by his fourth victory of the season in the Seefeld ‘Triple’ last Sunday, it was Geiger who earlier set the pace on the first of the four 2.5km laps of the cross-country course.

Home favourite Kristjan Ilves (EST) brought a huge cheer from the local fans gathered at the start and finish area as he hit the front at the 2.5km mark, with Norwegian duo Jens Luraas Oftebro and Aleksander Skoglund leading a chasing pack including Stefan and Thomas Rettenegger (AUT) and Riiber.

By the halfway point of the 10km, Oftebro – top of the Best Skier standings - was the new leader but with only a second separating the top 10, the stage was set for a frantic second half to the race, and so it proved.

Geiger took over again on the third lap, with Oftebro and German duo Julian Schmid and Manuel Faisst all within a second as they headed for the two steep uphill sections for the final time.

Schmid pushed himself to the front as they hit the final climb but he couldn’t sustain his attack as Riiber and Geiger accelerated past to make it another sprint finish to the line between the two main contenders, as was the case in the Triple in Seefeld.

Again it was Geiger (right, above) who proved slightly the stronger, just 0.2 seconds clear of Riiber and 0.7 secs ahead of Oftebro, with Stefan Rettenegger (AUT) fourth and Schmid fifth.

Under the lights on the Tehvandi hill, Lukas Greiderer (AUT)’s 94.5m jump briefly gave him the lead – the Austrian eventually had to settle for sixth – before Herola and Lamparter made their own leaps for victory.

But ultimately none of them were a match for the great Riiber.

“It was a really great day,” Lamparter added after his fifth podium finish of the season. “I had a better jump than yesterday and was more confident on the table, so I am pretty happy about that. But Jarl was again not beatable – hats off to him.”

Click here for the full results from Friday’s Mass Start.