Julian Schmid started the Nordic combined season with a lot of ambitions, but in the first competition in Ruka, last year’s winner fell far behind. Three other Germans are still looking at the podium.
Last year Julian Schmid won the opening competition in Ruka, Finland. But after jumping, the Oberstdorfer is already far behind. With a reduced run-up, Schmid landed on the large hill at 113 meters (110.7 points) and is 1:10 minutes behind the leading Austrian Johannes Lamparter (156.3 points).
Three Germans in the top 14 – Geiger weakened
However, three four Germans ended up in the top 14 places. Terence Weber (30 seconds), Manuel Faisst (38 seconds), Johannes Rydzek (42 seconds) and David Mach (46 seconds) are all less than a minute behind Lamparter and the podium is still within reach. In addition to Vice World Champion Schmid, Olympic champion Vinzenz Geiger (+1:15), who was weakened by a cold and who has to start a race to catch up together with Schmid, also experienced disappointment.
Last year, Schmid surprisingly won the opener in the far north. On Friday he was the fourth-to-last jumper to leave the Bakken. The jury had already shortened the run-up for the strong jumpers around Lamparter or record world champion Jarl Magnus Riiber, who is in second place, six seconds behind.
The Norwegian Riieber dislocated his shoulder after landing during training on Thursday, but still started. The race on the cross-country ski trail starts at 3 p.m.
“Compact Race” provides more excitement
The new “Compact Race” format was used for the first time to calculate the gaps, which primarily favors strong runners. In the Compact Race, the jumping starts as usual, but the time gap for the following cross-country skiing has already been determined. The first place jumper goes onto the track six seconds before the second place finisher, and after 90 seconds all athletes are on the track. This means the field is getting closer together and good jumpers can no longer get a big lead.