Stefan Rettenegger suffered a narrow defeat on Sunday. © ANSA / ANNA SZILAGYI

Nordic combined athlete's "lifelong dream" bursts: "It hurts like hell"

Austrian Stefan Rettenegger narrowly missed out on victory at the Nordic Combined World Cup triple event. The Salzburg native admitted in a subsequent interview that this was a huge disappointment.

February 01, 2026

From: cst/apa

Rettenegger, 23, had to let Norwegian Jens Luraas Oftebro pass him in the final meters of the 12,5 km cross-country ski race on Sunday after a long solo lead.

Rettenegger, who had a clear lead after the jumping, successfully defended his top position on the cross-country course for a long time against a group of five pursuers. However, in the final lap, Oftebro set off alone at high speed in pursuit of the Salzburg native, whom he caught and overtook on the final climb. The Norwegian crossed the finish line 3,7 seconds ahead.

“This is incredibly disappointing and hurts like hell. Winning the triple is a lifelong dream of mine. I believed for a long time that today could be the day, but unfortunately it didn't work out,” said Rettenegger, who, after his 14th World Cup podium finish, still has to wait for his first victory. He can, however, take his lead after 10 km as a positive aspect to the Winter Games.

Samuel Costa was the best Azzurro. © ANSA / ANNA SZILAGYI

South Tyrol's Nordic combined athletes were out of contention for the top spots. Samuel Costa and Aaron Kostner from Val Gardena finished the competition in 17th and 30th place respectively.

Women's treble goes to Norway

The women's triple was won convincingly by Norway's Ida Marie Hagen, who secured the overall World Cup title early with her tenth victory of the season. Daniela Dejori from Val Gardena finished in 23rd place.