By Nathalia Araujo and John Bagratuni, dpa
BERLIN – Johannes Rydzek led a stunning German podium sweep for his first Nordic combined skiing World Cup victory in almost six years while Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo was a familiar winner in a cross country sprint on Saturday in Finland.
Rydzek made the most of a monster morning ski jump to take a big lead into the 10-kilometers cross-country pursuit in Ruka which he never gave up. He won 59.8 seconds from Julian Schmid, with Vinzenz Geiger third to complete the first German World Cup sweep since November 2021, also in Ruka.
“You don’t have a jump like this every day but you have to stay focussed for the 10km. I had a lot of emotions over the last 100 metres. I am very grateful,” Rydzek told German broadcasters ZDF.
Rydzek has two Olympic golds and six world titles but had struggled in recent years and until Saturday had not won a World Cup competition since January 2019.
Norwegian superstar and World Cup champion Jarl Magnus Riiber had a below par ski jump and had to settle for fourth the day after beating Geiger and Schmid for victory.
Klæbo continued his sprint dominance into the new season with an eighth straight victory as the multiple world and Olympic champion now has 85 overall career victories.
He beat Norwegian team-mate Erik Valnes by 2.1 seconds, and Lauri Vuorinen delighted the Finnish home crowd with a third-place finish.
In the women’s event, Sweden’s Johanna Hagström claimed a first World Cup win after topping all rounds, beating Julie Myhre of Norway by .38 of a second. Two-time sprint champion Maja Dahlqvist completed the podium in third.
“I can’t believe it. It just feels crazy. I had a good day, I like Ruka. I was surprised I was first and was just thinking ‘don’t screw it up, don’t screw it up,'” Hagström said.
Friday’s 10km winner Frida Karlsson and overall title defender Jessie Diggins didn’t make it through the quarter-finals, while Norwegian legend Therese Johaug, who made her comeback to the sport the day before, was not competing.
The season opener event in Ruka will be concluded on Sunday with the men’s and women’s 20k mass start. The Nordic combined skiers also have another event.
