Norwegian quits
Lamparter on competitor Riiber: “A shock!”
Austria's elite Nordic combined athletes were very surprised on Wednesday by Jarl Magnus Riiber's announcement that he would be retiring at the end of the season. "It's a shock," said Johannes Lamparter.
Some of the ÖSV aces were even slightly shocked by the information, two days before the start of the traditional Seefeld Triple. With the 27-year-old Norwegian, Johannes Lamparter and Co. will lose their main opponent of recent years from the coming Olympic winter.
Riiber's 76 World Cup victories and eight World Championship titles are unrivaled in the combined. ÖSV head coach Christoph Bieler puts him right at the top of his "GOAT" ranking; for him, Riiber is the best in the sport across generations of athletes. "His announcement also hit me, he was already a dazzling figure," said Bieler. "Every era has its stars in the combined - whether Ackermann, Manninen or Frenzel. Riiber was the most outstanding for me, he revolutionized the sport and was able to win in jumping and cross-country. He had no weaknesses."
"That's the tragedy"
Bieler is looking to the past, but Riiber will still compete in up to ten World Cups and the World Championships. He is even defending champion again in Seefeld, but injuries and a chronic intestinal illness are taking their toll. Bieler: "The fact that he has to stop for health reasons is tragic." His protégé Johannes Lamparter defeated Riiber at the most recent World Cup in Schonach and skied to victory. On the one hand, Riiber had only been able to train a little in the weeks before, but Lamparter had also missed a lot of preparation time.
Lamparter: "He was my role model"
"It's a shock," said the 2022/23 overall World Cup winner. "He was my role model and is the one who sacrifices everything for the sport." It was also a "bit of a shock" for Lukas Greiderer after Riiber himself recently informed him about his health and training condition. "I believed that he would go low and then win three times again in Seefeld," admitted the Tyrolean.
Stefan Rettenegger said that Riiber would go down very well. "We like him very much, even if he has beaten us a few times. He is 100 percent dedicated to the sport." For his brother Thomas, Riiber is THE combined skier, as he noted in an online press conference. "When he's gone, it's a big hole. He's also great as a person." For Martin Fritz, the Scandinavian "has had an incredible influence on the sport. He has an incredibly high level on the hill and is also very strong on the cross-country ski run. He is an icon."
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