“As far as Krje is concerned, hardly any more skiing alone”

In the season’s three Combined World Cups, a new competition practice is being tested – individual combact, which favors more good skiers and brings a real dose of extra excitement to the leading skiers as the differences get smaller.

The best combined jumper can get a maximum of six seconds on the ski leg. After that, the gaps are five seconds, four seconds, three seconds and so on.

The trump card of the combined Finnish men’s national team, who finished ninth in the World Cup last season, known for his good skiing speed Ilkka Herola welcomes the new competition format with joy.

– It is a welcome concept, because the sport has gone in the direction that the differences on the hill have grown continuously, and this has not yet been compensated for in any other way.

Herola says that the sport’s decision-makers are still not willing to make revolutionary decisions.

– This is certainly not intended to be done too quickly, but in the long term the games will even become boring when the differences in the hill have – partly as a result of the development of equipment – grown bigger all the time, sees Herola.

The winner will receive his own crystal ball

When the ski jumping section has been emphasized, at the same time the importance of the combined skiing section has naturally decreased.

– The novelty at least offers interest, and we will see more tight skiing competitions. It still doesn’t mean that it’s easy to come from behind to the top fight. Good jumping is still required to be successful. Regarding the tip, we hardly see skiing alone anymore, of course this only applies to a few (three) World Cup competitions, Herola points out.

The individual combat competition format, where a small crystal ball is distributed at the end of the season, can be tested right away in the opening competition of the combined world cup on November 24 in Ruka.

– Then we’ll see how it works. However, the new competition format doesn’t change the hill profile, so I’m betting that Ruka won’t become the favorite. It’s definitely a more interesting race than the previous one jump and five kilometers that was held in Ruka, Herola says and believes that bench athletes will also like the novelty.

In addition to Ruka, the individual conpact – where the men’s skiing section is 7.5 kilometers long – is on the program in Ramsau, Austria, on December 16 and in Oberstdorf, Germany, on January 14, 2024.

Most of the combined races – fifteen out of twenty – are still conducted using the Gundersen method. Two races are held with mass starts in Ruka and Otepää.

– I think it’s a positive thing that new formats have been brought in. This certainly brings out different qualities in the athletes. It can expand the field a bit, but the starting point still doesn’t change here. The one who jumped the furthest and skied the hardest is still a very good athlete, emphasizes Herola.

Ilkka Herola, 28, has been the best in the combined skiing sections in the seasons 2019–2020, 2020–2021 and 2021–2022. Last year, he was the fourth best in the skiing sections of the World Cup, Eero Hirvonen being the fifth best skier.

A tiger can’t get rid of its stripes

A year ago, Herola started the season with a “relaxed approach” principle.

How has this summer training season gone compared to previous years?

– Mäkipuo’s physical training has become more loaded. It was somehow out of the summer training, but it (the traffic situation) has not affected the endurance training that much. At some point it made jumping difficult.

Herola admits that he took a small risk with the increased physical load on the hill.

– At this stage, however, it seems that steps were taken in the right direction. In that sense, I myself have positive feelings, but it hardly changes the big picture terribly.

The mental side is still an important element for Herola, and above all, the more relaxed he is when he goes into the race, the better the result on average.

– The tiger doesn’t seem to get anywhere from its tracks. If there is a tendency to analyze, then it will certainly follow me to the very end, Herola, who won the 2021 World Championship silver in the normal hill and 10 km race in Obertsdorf, grins.

There will be no major competitions this winter season. The World Cup in Trondheim is scheduled for February-March in 2025, and after that the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.