It was Riiber’s 68th World Cup victory in his career. He has now visited the podium a total of 93 times at this level. It was also his seventh straight combined victory and third triple feat in Seefeld.
– It feels extra good to win because it was a bit against my odds today. It wasn’t exactly my way. I felt good and tried to upshift when Jørgen approached, but it’s hard to upshift when it’s so loose. It is the worst ski race I have come across, Riiber told NRK and continued:
– The organizers did not exactly make it easy for themselves with these conditions. After all, the Austrians are jumpers who like fixed conditions on the ski slopes.
Little sour
Graabak made a brave attempt, but finished 23 seconds behind. Austrian Stefan Rettenegger took third place and was beaten by 37.6 seconds.
– Now I am very happy. I was a little upset after having to use a provisional lap, but it is a small advantage for me that it was loose and difficult in the track. I solved the code and used my experience under tough conditions, said 32-year-old Graabak.
Riiber took the lead by 18 seconds ahead of Johannes Lamparter as Sunday’s show jumping was cancelled. Thus, Thursday’s provisional round had to be used.
Lamparter had taken a few seconds on the first lap, while Rettenegger had gained 18 seconds. Graabak, who has taken second place in the first two Seefeld races, started 1.11 minutes behind Riiber.
Graabak gained around six seconds on the first lap, and it was even more on the next. He had a good lead over the two Austrians in front of him, and in the third round Lamparter passed out. Thus the trønder was able to catch up.
By the last lap he had also caught up with Rettenegger, and the distance to Riiber was 28 seconds. The gap was too big with only 1.3 kilometers to go.
[ Søndagens direkte TV-sport. Jakter første slalåmseier ]
Impressed Living room
The jump was canceled due to difficult wind conditions.
– Solid and great. It was demanding, and I am impressed by the runners and the support apparatus. A lot of good performances, so it’s fun, said Norway’s sports manager Ivar Stuan.
Jens Lurås Oftebro, who came third on Saturday, was 1.37 minutes up from his 14th place. He kept roughly the same speed as Riiber in the lead, but the distance to the podium was too great this time. Oftebro finished in fifth place.
This is how it went with the other Norwegians: 16) Aleksander Skoglund (2.37 min. behind), 18) Espen Andersen (2.40), 28) Espen Bjørnstad (4.03), 36) Kasper Moen Flatla (5.50).
[ Riiber vant overlegent foran to nordmenn på dag to av Seefeld-trippelen ]