Author: Daniele Mich
Last saved by: User
Company: Microsoft

Press Release 5^th December 2018

SKI JUMPING AND NORDIC COMBINED IN VAL DI FIEMME
KOBAYASHI UNSTOPPABLE AND RIIBER SHOW IN FIS WORLD CUP

FIS Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping World Cup from 11^th to 13^th January
A super beginning of season for Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi
Lillehammer Tour won by Jarl Magnus Riiber, Samuel Costa and Alessandro Pittin obtain points
Ski Jumpers and Nordic combined athletes on the HS135 hill in the Ski Jump Arena “Giuseppe Dal Ben”

A spectacular January will see the athletes of Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping participate in the FIS competitions scheduled from 11^th to 13^th January in Val di Fiemme (Italy) between the Ski Jump Arena in Predazzo and in the Cross-country Stadium in Lago di Tesero (Nordic Combined athletes only). The World Cup season has already begun and the challenges are getting more and more exciting. Surprisingly, Poland’s Kamil Stoch doesn’t dominate the Ski Jumping; Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi manages to win also in Nizhny-Tagil (Russia) with a series of impressive jumps in the season and on any type of jumping hill. The gaps between him and the other jumpers are important. The most insidious opponent seems to be a Polish; it's not Stoch but Piotr Zyla, who is really constant. It is already difficult to close the gap, but we are used to seeing incredible performances by the Olympic champion Stoch, and so, everything is possible; the season has just begun and the stages in Val di Fiemme on the HS135 hill could already offer a first analysis. A Norwegian, Johann Andre Forfang, is also standing out among the Poles and the Japanese. Italy’s Alex Insam, Davide Bresadola and Sebastian Colloredo are expected to increase in quality, and it is hoped that this leap will take place in mid-January in the "cradle of Nordic skiing".
With regard to the Nordic Combined, Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber stood out in the Lillehammer Tour; already last season in Val di Fiemme he made it clear that he was on the right track, especially on the jumping hill. Riiber got three victories in three days in the second stage of FIS World Cup; in the last race he was able to clearly win the jumping round and then to manage his advantage in the cross-country skiing round. The battle was open for the other medals: the other Norwegian, Joergen Graabak, managed to come second ahead of Germany’s Johannes Rydzek. Fourth place for Japan’s Akito Watabe while the Italian athletes, Alessandro Pittin and Samuel Costa, managed to obtain WCJ-points: Pittin tried to close the gap arriving 25^th after starting 43^rd while Costa closed 29^th. If the two Italian athletes were able to improve in the jumping round, they could really get in the first positions; given the good results obtained especially in the first Gundersen, the Italian athletes could really compete with the best athletes (Pittin 2^nd at the Best Skier Trophy) and the gaps after the first round were not as prohibitive as in previous years. Costa appeared completely recovered after the injury, and Raffaele Buzzi obtained points too.
In January ski Jumpers and Nordic combined athletes will be on the ski jumping hill in Predazzo. The Ski Jump Arena "Giuseppe Dal Ben" counts on its HS135 for the FIS Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined World Cup challenges with the Individual Gundersen and the Team Sprint. Now the facility has also a new HS66 hill, which has been built to complete the offer for young athletes, but also to give high-level athletes the chance to try a “medium” hill. In fact, it is often used by élite athletes as a starting-point for the beginning of the training camp.

For further information: www.fiemmeworldcup.com