Surprisingly, the best Austrian on Saturday was Junior World Champion Stefan Rettenegger in fifth place. The man from Salzburg, who had never made it into the top ten before, fought for the podium places in cross-country skiing until the final phase, but went away empty-handed in the sprint of a quartet. Top star Jarl Magnus Riiber, who celebrated his 50th World Cup success, was the undisputed winner.
While Riiber ironed out his mediocre start in 14th with flying colors, world champion Johannes Lamparter again failed to make it into the top group in 16th place. His teammates Mario Seidl in 11th and Franz-Josef Rehrl in 14th also ended up outside the top ranks.
Defending World Cup champion Riiber won from third place after a confident ten-kilometer cross-country skiing 10.4 seconds ahead of Friday’s winner Julian Schmid from Germany. Third place went to Riiber’s compatriot Jens Luraas Oftebro (+12.4) ahead of jumping winner Ryota Yamamoto (JPN/+13.3) and Rettenegger (+18.5), who was second on the hill. The 20-year-old’s best result to date was a 14th place last year, also in Ruka.
“I’m super satisfied, I’ve already made a good step,” emphasized Rettenegger after a “long and hard race” with a lot of leadership work done in front of Riiber. It is very gratifying that he can fight with the best. “That makes me positive for the season.”
The rest of the field behind Rettenegger was already more than 45 seconds behind World Cup title defender Riiber. There is another chance in Finland on Sunday.
Source: Nachrichten
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