The overriding topic of the opening weekend of the combined World Cup season held in Ruka in November was the slandered mass start race. For example Eero Hirvonen I think the race was a joke.
However, hidden under the noise was an important fact for the future of the sport, when the 20-year-old from France Matteo Baud made an effort on the hill section to second. The top prize was the first for the former top country in the sport since March 2017.
The men’s combined has long been dominated by the big three: Germany, Norway and Austria. This worries the International Olympic Committee. If more countries are not added to the top fight in the future, in the worst case, the sport’s Olympic status may be threatened.
In the big picture, factors like Baud are in a golden position for the sport. A couple of years ago, the junior World Cup medalist gave stiff resistance to Norway, who had dominated the sport for years, on the hill section of Ruka To Jarl Magnus Riiber.
– Matteo is an absolutely brilliant hill man. From the World Cup point of view, he is still somewhat lacking in the skiing part, but he has improved in that as well. A really interesting athlete, Urheilu’s expert Petter Kukkonen praises the French athlete in his twenties.
Ten years ago, France had a superstar Jason Lamy Chappuis and the relay team that reached the World Championship gold, but after the end of the golden generation, there have been no top athletes in the country.
Now, however, France is making a new ascent towards the top. Also Laurent Muhlethaler has been capable of individual hard performances. Kukkonen knows French coaching well.
According to Kukkonen, the number of enthusiasts is small, as in Finland.
– There, like Finland, success is achieved with very little resources. Now it would seem that a new young generation is waking up. These are things worth their weight in gold for the sport, says Kukkonen.
– Individual types do it with small resources for the love of the sport. I have watched with pleasure the mood in France.
Another country that experienced an even bigger collapse is the United States, which had three elite athletes in the early 2000s. Bill Demon achieved World Championship and Olympic gold, Todd Lodwick two world championships and Johnny Spillane world championship and three Olympic silver medals.
The United States has some promise these days, but no top contenders.
– Renewal has taken time for them too. I know money is tight there too. All the money goes to alpine skiing. If the Finnish Ski Federation didn’t invest a penny in the operation, it would be tough.
“The poo is in the pants”
Kukkonen was the head coach of the combined Finnish national team for ten years. He has criticized the sport’s decision-makers several times.
According to Kukkonen, the International Ski Federation FIS has not listened enough to the challenges of smaller countries.
– The policy with which FIS moves the sports forward has been a concern for a long time. They have bowed far too much to one market, Germany. It has been able to either directly or indirectly dictate the direction of the sport. The opinions of small countries have been forgotten.
According to Kukkonen, one way to increase competition would be new competition formats. However, FIS has not reacted enough to this.
The current head coach of the combined national team Antti Kuisma is on the same lines as Kukkonen. According to him, grievances are brought up at FIS meetings, but it has been difficult to find common ground.
In combined, the discussion of costumes and rules have also come up. Kuisma says that, for example, attempts have been made to limit hill suits to five per season.
– The big countries said it doesn’t affect them. They are able to test a hundred suits before the season and choose the best ones, says Kuisma.
Kukkonen hopes that the FIS would follow the example of the International Biathlon Union.
– At the same time, the IBU strongly supports small developing countries financially and with all possible means. For example, in the women’s biathlon relay there are at best more than 20 teams on the line, Kukkonen reminds.
– When the ski jumping or combined team competition starts, it’s good to get eight teams to the finish line. The same thing is in cross-country skiing. The problems have been known for a long time, but FIS has not reacted to them. Now that the poop is deep in the pants, we try to do this and that in a hurry, so that the species remain viable.
Cooperation between countries
However, the countries receive some kind of support from FIS.
– FIS distributes small sums of money. It is based on how many athletes have started in the world championships. It becomes a certain amount of euros per year.
Kukkonen and Kuisma say that FIS offers a 1-2 week long camp to developing countries free of charge.
– If these were effective techniques, the situation would be much better, Kukkonen states.
– The best idea is for big countries to support smaller countries in training and equipment development. Such is the case between Norway and the USA. American athletes have trained with Norwegians, Kuisma says.
Estonia, Slovenia and Switzerland
The International Olympic Committee requires that new countries join the association. A small sport like combined will never grow into a global hit.
However, there are some countries that have individual athletes. Italy has long been an important country, and Alessandro Pitti is an Olympic bronze medalist from 13 years ago.
Estonian Kristjan Ilves is an athlete who is occasionally seen in the top group. In 2018, the youth world championship was won by a Slovenian Vid Vrhovnik.
It is worth keeping a close eye on the one connected to such countries.
– We will definitely try to get smaller sleeping countries as well. These can be, for example, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Switzerland. There are Bulgaria and Romania in hill jumping. Countries where there have been enthusiasts. 20–25 active countries would be included, while there are about 15 now.
– That thought should be quite deep Lasse Ottesen (combined competition manager) and other decision makers. In the big picture, I’m afraid that the International Ski Federation is interested. The main products, alpine skiing and ski jumping, are really good. They bring money to the house. Other sports are just trying to play along, says Kukkonen.