Steamboat Springs, CO (November 30, 2024) – Men’s Nordic Combined kicked off the 2024-25 World Cup season in Ruka, Finland this weekend with exciting performances by the U.S. men’s team, including a top 5 jump, 2 athletes in the top 20 overall, a new PR, and all 4 men scoring World Cup points.
The weekend consisted of three events, each with a different format and some fast, exhilarating ski races. Thursday, November 28 was a double PCR, or Provisional Competition Round, part of every event as a back-up in case jumping is canceled on the day of competition. Niklas Malacinski got the world’s attention with a jump of 126.5 meters, landing him in 5th place overall.
Friday’s race was the Individual Compact Large Hill HS142 with a 7.5-kilometer ski race where start times for the ski race are compacted into a tighter window, making for a more exciting ski race that typically benefits fast skiers, of which the U.S. men are ranked. All four U.S. men landed in the top 40, with Erik Lynch scoring his first World Cup points: Malacinski 21, Loomis 25, Schumann 33, Lynch 40.
Malacinski made headlines again in Saturday’s race, when he held tight with the second lead pack to finish in 13th place. This was another Gundersen Large Hill HS142 this time with a 10-kilometer ski race. Malacinski jumped 126 meters which landed him in 12th place after the ski jumping, and he followed that up with an incredible ski, sticking with the best athletes in the world to finish in 13th place overall and a new Personal Best. Following closely behind was Ben Loomis in 17th, giving the U.S. men an impressive start to the season.
Sunday the men will suit up again for one last competition in Ruka, where the order is reversed with the ski race happening before the jumping in what is sure to be an exciting 10-kilometer Individual Mass Start followed by the Large Hill HS142. Tune into skiandsnowboard.live tomorrow to watch the final race in the World Cup opener.
Next up, the U.S. Nordic Combined team will head to Lillehammer, Norway where the women will join the men for another weekend of World Cup competition, December 6-8th.