Geiger on Oftebro's Win, Third Place: 'I'm Annoyed'

Olympic champion Vinzenz Geiger had to settle for third place at the Seefeld Triple in Tirol, finishing just three seconds behind the Norwegian duo Jens Luraas Oftebro and Jarl Magnus Riiber. The event marked Geiger’s seventh podium finish of the season in Nordic combined.

"I'm annoyed nonetheless. Of course, finishing third is cool, but I pushed too early today—I had a real chance to win," Geiger said in an interview with ARD. His performance leaves him with good chances to claim overall victory in the coveted triple event.

Reigning world champion Riiber, who recently announced his retirement plans for March, surprisingly ceded the sprint lead to Oftebro after an intense finish. Riiber had celebrated his 77th World Cup victory the previous Friday.

Commenting on Riiber’s achievements, former champion Eric Frenzel remarked, "Jarl is one of the greatest Nordic combined athletes in history, if not the greatest. I can only tip my hat to his career, and I wish him all the best on his future endeavors."

Other notable German competitors included vice world champion Julian Schmid, who finished sixth, and Manuel Faißt in seventh place, while veteran Johannes Rydzek ended up twelfth. In a change from previous years, athletes now carry their time advantages into the next day’s competition, with the final decision to be made on Sunday in the classic Gundersen format over 12.5 kilometers instead of the usual 10 kilometers.