Lamparter seals Ruka Tour title as winds prevent Mass Start jumping

Johannes Lamparter (AUT) secured the Ruka Tour title after high winds once again prevented any ski jumping, forcing cancellation of the Mass Start jumping round on the final day of Nordic Combined World Cup action in Ruka, Finland.

Earlier, Lamparter’s teammate Stefan Rettenegger (AUT) showed a welcome return to form, winning a fast-paced 10 km cross-country Mass Start race. With swirling winds making jumping too dangerous—just as on Saturday, when PCR results were used for the Gundersen—the athletes were unable to take to the HS142 Large Hill.

Because jumping was called off, the standings remained based on the completed competitions, and Lamparter—seventh in the Mass Start cross-country, 21.2 seconds behind Rettenegger—clinched the Ruka Tour title thanks to victories in both completed events: Friday’s Compact and Saturday’s Gundersen.

The 24-year-old Austrian, the only man to interrupt Jarl Magnus Riiber’s (NOR) long reign by winning the overall in 2022–23, will carry the leader’s Yellow Bib to Trondheim (NOR), which is scheduled to host two men’s events and the first women’s events of the season next weekend.

Lamparter’s Gundersen win on Saturday was his fourth consecutive individual World Cup victory, after also winning the last two events of the previous season in Lahti (FIN).

Julian Schmid (GER) continued strong early-season form, finishing third in Sunday’s Mass Start cross-country (before jumping was cancelled) after taking second in both the Compact and Gundersen. “It was too windy—over 10 m/s—for ski jumping, but I did a really good cross-country again. I’m happy with second overall and looking forward to Trondheim,” he said.

In Sunday’s cross-country race, Schmid, Jens Luraas Oftebro (NOR) and Rettenegger (AUT) broke away early and built a 19–20 second gap after the first lap. Aleksander Skoglund (NOR) bridged across, creating a front quartet that held an eight-second lead over a group including Andreas Skoglund (NOR), Einar Luraas Oftebro (NOR) and Vid Vrhovnik (SLO). Despite Lamparter leading the chase and closing time, the leaders maintained control. On the final climb, Rettenegger held off Skoglund for the win, with Schmid third at 2.5 seconds.

Notable finishes included Samuel Costa (ITA), recently out of retirement for the Olympic season, in fourth at 11.3 seconds, and Eero Hirvonen (FIN) in fifth. Kristjan Ilves (EST) and Lamparter finished sixth and seventh, 20.6 and 21.2 seconds back respectively, while Jens Luraas Oftebro faded to ninth.

Ilkka Herola (FIN) secured third overall in the Ruka Tour standings after earning his first individual World Cup podium at the venue on Friday and a fifth place on Saturday. “It’s my best opening weekend in Ruka, so I’m very satisfied,” he said, hoping for better conditions in Trondheim.

Next up: Trondheim, Norway, with two men’s competitions and the women’s season openers scheduled for next weekend.