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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: Nordic Combined World Championships

  • Rydzek Realizes Every Child’s Dream as Nordic Combined World Champ; Taylor Fletcher Leads U.S. in 19th

    Germany's Johannes Rydzek celebrates his first World Championships title in the first nordic-combined competition of 2015 World Championships on Friday in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
    Germany’s Johannes Rydzek (5) celebrates his first World Championships title in the first nordic-combined competition of 2015 World Championships on Friday in Falun, Sweden. He edged Italy’s Alessandro Pittin in the normal hill/10 k individual by 1.3 seconds. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier’s coverage of the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden, is brought to you by the generous support of L.L. Bean, now featuring a complete line of Kikkan Randall training wear.

    FALUN, Sweden — Johannes Rydzek hadn’t seen the podium in a World Championships competition since his first World Championships in 2011 in Oslo, Norway, where he won three silver medals between the large-hill individual and two team events.

    Four years later, the 23-year-old German rose to gold in the normal hill/10-kilometer individual on Friday, the first day of nordic combined at 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.

    “Every child that comes to sport has this dream to be a world champion, and now I am one,” Rydzek told the Associated Press.

    Rydzek jumped to fifth on the 100-meter hill at Lugnet Arena in Falun, Sweden, then overcame a 31-second starting deficit to make a break for first on the last lap of the 10 k Gundersen start. Rydzek answered an attack from Italian leader Alessandro Pittin with about half a kilometer to go, trailing him down into the stadium. On the final rise before a sweeping downhill toward the finish, Rydzek passed Pittin and outlasted him by 1.3 seconds for the win.

    “I tried everything to go alone,” Pittin told the AP. “But for sure, Johannes was faster than me when we entered the stadium.”

    Pittin had raced up to second with the fastest ski time, latching onto the lead pack on the fourth-and-final lap. He jumped to 14th and started the 10 k race 1:16 minutes behind Germany’s Eric Frenzel, who led the jumping portion.

    Rydzek posted the fourth-fastest ski time to win in 26:38.9, while France’s defending Olympic champion Jason Lamy Chappuis finished third (+5.0) after starting third, 25 seconds back. Frenzel placed fourth (+6.1) with the 20th-ranked time.

    Håvard Klemetsen led Norway in fifth (+9.6) after starting sixth, and Japan’s Akito Watabe and Yoshito Watabe placed sixth (+12.2) and seventh (+14.4), respectively. The two were among the most competitive in the jump on a windy afternoon, which included delays, with Yoshito soaring to second and Akito ranking fourth heading into the 10 k.

    Norway’s Jørgen Graabak improved from 11th to eighth, Germany’s Fabian Riessle rocketed from 23rd to ninth with the fifth-fastest time, and Austria’s Bernhard Gruber went from 17th to 10th overall.

    U.S. Nordic Combined's Taylor Fletcher (25) racing to 19th in Friday's 10 k after jumping to 25th on the normal hill in Falun, Sweden. Fletcher was the lone American in the top 20 on the first day of nordic combined at the 2015 World Championships. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
    U.S. Nordic Combined’s Taylor Fletcher (25) racing to 19th in Friday’s 10 k after jumping to 25th on the normal hill in Falun, Sweden. Fletcher was the lone American in the top 20 on the first day of nordic combined at 2015 World Championships. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Taylor Fletcher led the U.S. in 19th after starting 25th, 1:31 behind Frenzel, and finished 1:32.5 after Rydzek. His ski time ranked 18th.

    “I felt like I had good speed, I just I never got into a rhythm,” Fletcher said afterward. “I felt like I was swimming and I was never comfortable. I had people stepping all over my poles and I was going in and out of the line of people trying to move up, and I didn’t race my style.”

    Fletcher started four seconds behind his older brother Bryan, who jumped to 20th and ended up 21st (+1:40.9).

    “We were really hoping that we’d be able to pull away or work together and pull up to the front, but with the way the conditions were and just how I was skiing, it was really hard to actually make up ground on anybody,” Bryan said.

    While temperatures cooled slightly to around 35-degrees Fahrenheit by the start of the race at 4 p.m., the course had turned to a mashed-potato-like consistency with the sun beating down on a 40-degree afternoon.

    The 50-man field saw the jumping portion delayed from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. because of winds, leaving competitors with about 50 minutes after the last jump to prepare for the pursuit-style race.

    “We didn’t get much of a warmup and we were only able to ski the upper part of the course,” Bryan said. “They didn’t have the full course open or anything so that was tough. It was a quick turnaround.”

    Ben Berend (U.S. Nordic Combined) competing in his first World Championships competition on Friday in Falun, Sweden. After jumping to 16th on the normal hill, Berend finished 45th in the 10 k. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
    Ben Berend (U.S. Nordic Combined) competing in his first World Championships competition on Friday in Falun, Sweden. After jumping to 16th on the normal hill, Berend finished 45th in the 10 k. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    He noted that his teammate Ben Berend, in his first World Championships, had more adversity to deal with jumping as the ninth starter in the first group.

    “Every time they were going to start the competition today, he’d have to get dressed, go all the way to the top of the jump and by the time he’d get there, they’d say, ‘OK we’re not going to do it,’ and he’d have to come right back down,” Bryan said. “For us in the later group, it wasn’t nearly as bad. It certainly is a lot of warming up and then, ‘OK, we’re not going yet.’ … It’s the same for everybody. It used to happen a lot more on World Cup then it does these days with TV and everything, but it’s just something you have to deal with.”

    Berend jumped to 16th, the second best of the four Americans after Billy Demong leapt to 10th.

    After having competed at one World Cup beforehand, the 19-year-old Berend was surprised to discover he led the jump through the first 18 men.

    “I went and actually got equipment checked. I was in there forever and I came back out and they were like, ‘You’re still in the lead. You need to come back to the leader’s chair,’ ” he recalled. “I’ve never been there before so that was a pretty awesome experience being able to take that in.”

    The 19th jumper, Demong bumped him out of it.

    “Having Bill take me out of that leader’s chair, it couldn’t have been more perfect,” Berend said.

    “They were like, ‘You’re still in the lead. You need to come back to the leader’s chair.’ ” — Ben Berend (U.S. Nordic Combined), who was 16th in Friday’s jump and 45th overall for his career best in his second World-Cup-level individual competition

    Demong went on to finish 25th in the 10 k (+1:51.8), and Berend placed 45th (+4:54.6).

    “I’m not fast enough to ski at the front of these races,” Berend said. “The conditions just made it tougher so the race was pretty brutal, but you learn. It was good experience for me out there. … Overall it was an awesome day. I’m looking forward to learning from this and moving on to better results in the future.”

    Demong noted that this was Berend’s first World Championships and third-ever World Cup event (after two competing twice at last month’s World Cup in Schonach, Germany).

    “To execute well and sit in the lead, that’s huge,” Demong said. “At 19 it’s a lot easier to train a few years and get faster at cross country than it is to make a ski jumper. Ski jumping is a really funny sport. When I was his age I was a great jumper, but I struggled in cross country. I’d rather start with someone who is a talented athlete, a great jumper, and try to teach them the cross-country side.”

    In his eighth World Championships, the 34-year-old Demong explained that jumping has been his strong point this year.

    “I haven’t competed a whole lot, and seemingly in my old age not training much for jumping has paid off,” he said. “The same can’t be said about cross country. I haven’t raced super well this year, but it’s been stable. Today, I started out harder, hoping to make something happen and paid for it the second half of the race. Ordinarily, these were my racing conditions. When I was my fittest this is where I would win, like Vancouver and Liberec. That being said, when you’re not the fittest, it is punishing.”

    The second of four nordic-combined events is scheduled for Sunday with the 4 x 5 k team event.

    “Sunday is going to be great if we can jump like we did today,” Demong said. “I think Taylor and Bryan skied a really good first half today. They’ve been two of the fastest, if not the fastest guys this year, so hopefully I can pull my stuff together and we’ll have a fight for a medal.”

    — Lander Karath contributed reporting

    Results

  • Led by Fletcher in 14th, U.S. NoCo Shakes Off Cobwebs at World Champs

    Led by Fletcher in 14th, U.S. NoCo Shakes Off Cobwebs at World Champs

    Bryan Fletcher (USA) leads a pack in the third of four laps during the 10 k Gundersen start at the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme. After placing 19th on the normal hill in Predazzo, Italy, Fletcher rose to 14th overall at the Lago di Tesero stadium in Val di Fiemme.
    Bryan Fletcher (USA) leads a pack in the third of four laps during the 10 k Gundersen start at the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme. After placing 19th on the normal hill in Predazzo, Italy, Fletcher rose to 14th overall at the Lago di Tesero stadium in Val di Fiemme.

    FasterSkier’s coverage of the 2013 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, is brought to you by the generous support of Fischer Sports.

    VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – You could have been looking at pretty much any one of the US Ski Team guys scattered throughout the 10-kilometer Gundersen start on Friday, the afternoon segment of the nordic-combined opener at the 2013 Nordic World Ski Championships. They all had that same look in their eyes, in their disposition.

    All four of the Americans – Bryan Fletcher, Todd Lodwick, Billy Demong and Taylor Fletcher – had the same task ahead of them: catch as many people as possible and finish with some satisfaction.

    Bryan Fletcher after posting the 19th best jump on the normal hill Friday at the World Championships opener in Predazzo, Italy.
    Bryan Fletcher after posting the 19th best jump on the normal hill Friday at the World Championships opener in Predazzo, Italy.

    Bryan Fletcher led the group after the jumping portion on the 106-meter normal hill, about 10 kilometers away in Predazzo. Fletcher had posted a 92.5-meter jump, 11 meters short of Haarvard Klemetsen’s winning distance, which put Fletcher in 19th, 1:41 minutes back from the Norwegian.

    Lodwick had the next-best jump for the U.S. in 32nd, one of his top results on the hill this season. The younger of the Fletcher brothers, Taylor was 45th in the jump and Demong ranked 47th out of 55.

    Not ideal, most thought, as they formulated a plan to work their way back into contention. However, for Bryan Fletcher, 19th was enough to aim for a top 10 and by far his best individual result at World Championships.

    With three World Championships behind him, Bryan entered his fourth with some confidence, testing his competitors and leading one of several chase groups out of the start. With the pace fluctuating from fast to slow, he decided to take the reins and keep it steady, but mostly, high.

    “For me the strongest point of today’s race was being able to lead and still recover and keep going,” Bryan said after placing 14th, 1:01.2 behind winner Jason Lamy Chappuis of France. Beside his two fourth-place finishes in relay events at worlds, it eclipsed his previous individual best of 22nd.

    Now one of the top U.S. skiers on his five-man A-team, Bryan said he expected more of himself, especially with three more competitions to go. But this was a good start.

    “Obviously, I wasn’t in the optimum jumping position,” he said. “I was just really going out there to see how I felt and kind of open up World Champs with a good solid opening race and that’s exactly what it was. I felt strong and I think that if I continue to race this strong throughout the rest of the races, with a little better jumping, I’m in the fight.”

    Fletcher ran out of some steam at the end of the four-lap race, missing out on 13th by 0.2 seconds to Austria’s Bernhard Gruber, but clocked the 13th-fastest ski time. According to Jarrett, that one place didn’t make much difference.

    “When you come here to win medals, it doesn’t matter that much,” he said. Regardless, he was impressed by Bryan’s performance, which led his teammates’ by a significant margin.

    American Billy Demong leads Tim Hug (SUI) and the rest of a chase group on the second to last lap behind the leaders of Friday's 10 k Gundersen at World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
    American Billy Demong leads Tim Hug (SUI) and the rest of a chase group while working to close the gap on the second to last lap of Friday’s 10 k Gundersen at World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    Demong got down to business from start to finish, making up nearly a minute and a half on the leaders to end up 23rd. While it wasn’t the second world title he was hoping for, or another medal to add to his collection, Demong was relatively pleased with the way he skied in a race that turned out to be a sort of personal test.

    “It’s tough when you know you don’t really have a chance after the jumping,” Demong said. “You try to make something happen just on the off-chance that you don’t blow up or you can make it. I guess today I tried to trial a good race and just pace myself well. It’s a tough course and I think it’s important to have the mentality that I’m going to jump better in one of these next races”

    Demong said he started “pretty controlled” and strove for negative splits on each ensuing lap. The strategy gave him more energy for the last couple rounds, where he made up the most time on the 46 men in front of him.

    “Unfortunately, it was a good training day,” the 32-year-old said of second-worst result at World Championships since placing 27th in 1999 in Ramsau, Austria. “But it gives me confidence for the next couple races.”

    For Demong, a 2009 World Champion and 2010 Olympic gold medalist, confidence has been what he’s been seeking all season after some equipment changes last summer. When Atomic stopped making jumping skis, he had to change companies and try new bindings and boots as well.

    “At one point, I switched some binding pieces around and had some pretty scary jumps,” he explained. “I don’t know if it’s my age or what, but it took me a while to get some confidence back to just go after it and feel safe. So the first month of the season was really just getting comfortable enough to try again.”

    Now, he’s going for it and feeling safe again, Demong said. Training jumps have been going well recently – within the top 30 – but Friday he felt he tried too hard.

    “It’s not cross-country skiing where the harder you try, the faster you go,” Demong said. “It’s like a golf swing. You have to have finesse and trust. Today, I can honestly say when I tried too hard in the competition to make something special happen. Instead of going further … I ended up going shorter. It’s kind of rough honestly. Right now I have to be very patient on the jump hill, which is hard because you want to go for it in the competition.”

    While Demong chose restraint in Friday’s race, Taylor Fletcher decided to go hard from the start and rose from 45th to 25th with the ninth-fastest time. In his second World Championships, it topped his 26th from two years ago in Olso, Norway. But after tasting the podium with a career-best World Cup result of third earlier this year, it wasn’t what the 22-year-old was shooting for.

    “It’s encouraging for Bryan, Bill and Taylor to have pretty much a sub-par jumping performance and be kind of in there,” Jarrett said. “But we still need to improve on the jumping side to be fighting for the podium.

    “Taylor took a risk and opened really fast,” he added. “You can see Bill did the opposite, they basically came together at the end, and Bill beat him.”

    While Jarrett hadn’t spoken with Lodwick after the race, in which the two-time 2009 World Champion dropped three spots to 35th for his first non-top 30 at worlds, he speculated Lodwick might not have felt well. After the jump, Lodwick said he’d been fighting illness for the last “two or three months.”

    “I feel like I’ve kind of battled it and am as good as I can be,” Lodwick said. But in his ninth World Championships, he couldn’t get over the crowd at the ski-jumping stadium.

    “The hill’s in perfect shape, there’s a headwind, blue skies, I mean we are competing in such an awesome venue in the valley,” Lodwick said. “I’m just excited to be here. It’s been a blast.”

    Jarrett said conditions weren’t perfect in the jump after several wind delays affected his starters. With the normal hill, 4 x 5 k team event up next on Sunday, Jarrett said they had some tough decisions to make by Friday.

    “It’s basically between Todd and Johnny,” he said of Spillane, who did not make the team’s four-man quota on Friday. “I know Johnny’s really looking forward to the big hill more so than the small [normal] hill.”

    Ten years ago, Spillane won an individual world title on the large hill in Predazzo.

    “While he wants to be on the team he’s kind of focusing on [next] Thursday’s race as much as possible,” Jarrett said. “He’s got to still earn a spot on the team jumping-wise anyway.”

    Earlier in the year, the U.S. Nordic Combined Team stated they were seeking three medals. Jumping coach Chris Gilbertson restated that goal on Wednesday, but added that they’ll be happy with one. When it comes to the event they could have the best chance in, Jarrett said the relay is the focus.

    In the past two World Championships – in Oslo in 2011 and Liberec in 2009 – the Americans were fourth with Demong, Bryan Fletch, Spillane and Lodwick. They also placed sixth in a second relay at the 2011 worlds, but the schedule has since changed to include a two-man team sprint on March 2.

    “This season in Schonach, [Germany] that was the first time we’ve been on a podium in a World Cup in a four-man team event,” Jarrett said. “So it’s clearly possible. That wasn’t really anything out of this world on the jumping side. That’s gonna be the key, we need to be in there after jumping to do it.”

    Results