Hagen powers to seventh straight win after heavy snow hits Ramsau jumping
Dec 20, 2024·Nordic Combined
Norway's Ida Marie Hagen claimed her seventh successive World Cup victory in Ramsau to extend her overall lead in the women’s Viessmann FIS Nordic Combined standings.
The defending champion dominated the Mass Start cross-country section in falling snow and with the ski jumping later cancelled due to safety concerns in the worsening conditions, the results from Thursday’s Provisional Round competition were used instead.
Hagen finished third in the PCR with a jump of 88 meters for 120.1 points, giving her a third straight victory this season and 10th in her last 11 competitions going back to last season, when she won the final four events.
"It is perfect here," said the 24-year-old, who took her 12th World Cup win a year on from her first on the same Austrian plateau.
"I am happy we have another competition tomorrow and it is so cool sharing this moment with the boys, who also had a strong day."
Haruka Kasai of Japan, who won the PCR with a jump of 92.5 meters for 127.8 points, finished second behind Hagen after a sixth-placed finish in the cross-country.
"I am really happy," said Kasai. "It was a tough course and I had a hard cross-country race, but overall I think it was a very good performance."
Minha Korhonen (FIN), the 17-year-old who secured her first World Cup podium in Ramsau a year ago, claimed another top-three spot after finishing fifth, 58.4 seconds back, in the cross-country.
Two-time overall champion Gyda Westvold Hansen (NOR), who was disqualified in the PCR for an irregular suit, missed out on any World Cup points despite finishing second in the cross-country behind Hagen.
Hagen (below) took command early on, hitting the front in the snowy conditions and powering away from her rivals on the opening loop of the 5km race.
“It was tough, but I have the best waxers and that made it a bit easier on the skis,” she said. “It was a nice winter’s day as well in the snow.”
Nathalie Armbruster (GER) tried to stay with Hagen in the early stages but couldn’t live with the front-runner’s scorching pace, eventually being pipped for third by Marte Leinan Lund, who made it a Norwegian one-two-three in the cross-country.
Hansen found herself 20 seconds back after 3.2km but a strong second loop saw her surge up to second place, only 8.2 seconds behind Hagen, a gap of 2.1 points.
But with the heavy snow preventing the jumping going ahead, her efforts were ultimately undone by her disqualification in the PCR.
FIS race director Lasse Ottesen explained that the conditions meant it was not safe to go ahead with the jumping on the WM-Schanze HS98 hill.
“The snow is difficult,” he said. “It is not dry, it is not wet, so it is sticking to the skis of the athletes for the landing, and this is not safe.”
Armbruster finished fourth overall, with Kasai’s sister Yuna taking fifth ahead of German duo Jenny Nowak and Maria Gerboth, the latter having finished second in the PCR.
Lisa Hirner (AUT), who stood fourth in the overall standings before this weekend, was unable to start the competition on home snow, having failed to fully recover in time, while team-mate Laura Pletz also didn’t start for health reasons.
The women are scheduled to return to the HS98 hill at 09:00 CET on Saturday for a Compact competition, with the cross-country section to follow at 15:30.
Click here for the full results from Friday's Mass Start in Ramsau.
)
