Oftebro pips Lamparter in thrilling Gundersen finish as Riiber fades

Oftebro pips Lamparter in thrilling Gundersen finish as Riiber fades

Jens Luraas Oftebro surged to a stunning victory in the men’s Viessmann FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Gundersen in Schonach as fellow Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber faded in a dramatic cross-country race.

Defending champion Riiber led by nearly 39 seconds after 5.2km but a six-strong chasing group launched a stunning attack over the second half of the course.

Oftebro, Austrian duo Johannes Lamparter and Stefan Rettenegger, Ilkka Herola (FIN) and Germans Vinzenz Geiger and Julian Schmid reduced the gap to around 19 seconds over the next two kilometers before Riiber appeared to deliberately slow on the penultimate loop to conserve energy for the finish.

As his pursuers swallowed him up with 2km to go, Oftebro and Lamparter then broke clear, with the 24-year-old Norwegian proving the strongest to pip Lamparter in a thrilling finish.

It was Oftebro’s sixth individual World Cup victory, his first since the opening round of last season in Ruka and his second Schwarzwaldpokal after also winning in Schonach in 2023.

“It’s a really perfect day,” he said. “It was more than I expected - although I did a good jump, it is hard to catch up more than a minute. But I felt strong in the cross-country with really good skis and I was really happy I could beat Lamparter in the sprint.”

I was a bit nervous after catching Jarl. I felt a big pressure to win the sprint but I had good memories of two years ago and to finally win this season was really good for me.”– Jens Luraas Oftebro

Lamparter, the 2022-23 champion, had claimed Austria’s only individual podium of the season in Lillehammer in December and continued his return to form with his second here.

“It was quite a solid performance from the whole Austrian team on the hill and that gave me some self-confidence,” he said. “I was feeling good on the last lap and managed to set the attack but Jens was able to follow and was better at the end so he deserved the victory. But I am really happy with second place.”

Herola edged Stefan Rettenegger for the final spot on the podium, with Geiger finishing fifth and Riiber coming home sixth, ahead of closest challenger Schmid.

“It was exciting from the beginning,