Who will be the King of Summer?
Oct 02, 2018·Nordic Combined
Two more Summer Grand Prix events and it will be decided who joins the summer queens Stefaniya Nadymova and Tara Geraghty-Moats on the throne: two Individual Gundersen events, 200 points and the Summer Grand Prix overall victory for the men are on the line. The venue of the 2023 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, Planica (SLO) will offer the stunning autumnal backdrop.
As customary in the summer, the field of starters is diverse: from the top World Cup athletes battling for the podiums to small nations like Kazakhstan or Korea checking their summer shapes to young guns out for first blood.
The best changes for the Summer Grand Prix title and the attached boon of 7,000 € (14,000 € prize money in total for the top three athletes) have Mario Seidl (AUT) and Ilkka Herola (FIN). Not only has the long-time Finnish team leader taken his first-ever victory in an international elite Nordic Combined event earlier this summer in Villach, he also has 246 points in his account already from the past three competition weekends. Closest adversary and Summer Grand Prix leader Mario Seidl currently holds 10 points more than Herola, so the fight will be close all the way.
Joining the fray will be the top Austria's David Pommer and Martin Fritz, French athletes Maxime Laheurte and Francois Braud, Czech Republic’s Miroslav Dvorak and Tomas Portyk, Swiss ace Tim Hug and USA’s Taylor Fletcher. In addition, the Norwegian team will make a first appearance spearheaded by 2017/18 World Cup runner-up Jan Schmid, fellow veteran and last year’s Planica double winner Magnus Moan and Espen Andersen.
Led by Marjan Jelenko, the local heroes from Slovenia will be out in numbers with Junior World Champion Vid Vrhovnik, Gasper Brecl, Rok and Ozbej Jelen, Nik Knaus and Mateusz Malorvh all competing.
Add some interesting young athletes to the mix and the end result will be a highly diverting, stylish end to the summer competition season of Nordic Combined… with the days to the World Cup Opener in Ruka numbered already.
The programme:
Friday, 21.09.
15:00 Official Training HS 138
17:00 Provisional Competition Round HS 138
18:00 Official roller ski training
Saturday 22.09.
10:00 Trial Round HS 138
11:00 INDIVIDUAL GUNDERSEN Competition Round HS 138
13:00 INDIVIDUAL GUNDERSEN 10 km cross-country race
Sunday 23.09.
10:00 Trial Round HS 138
11:00 INDIVIDUAL GUNDERSEN Competition Round HS 138
13:00 INDIVIDUAL GUNDERSEN 10 km cross-country race
Quick Facts:
HILL
Velikanka, Planica Nordic Centre
HS 138
Planica Nordic Centre
5x 2 km roller-ski loop Planica Nordic Centre
)
