November 26, 2013 – The wait is almost over! The season 2013/14 is about to explode into action and we can almost see the hustle and bustle of officials, service people, physiotherapists, journalists, coaches and athletes again who just have one question they would like to answer: who is this year’s ultimate winter athlete? Well-known faces like Eric Frenzel and Jason Lamy Chappuis, Akito Watabe or Bernhard Guber will by vying for the wins and titles and try to keep new ascending talents off their backs.

And this winter will demand the utmost of the Nordic all-rounders with two massive season highlights waiting on the horizon: the Nordic Combined Triple and the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi! Two chances to show the World who the toughest man on skis is. On top of that, there is the World Cup overall, the crystal globe to decorate the skier who manages to be the most consistent all-rounder over a long period of time!

But let’s take the time, lean back and have a look at every single venue in this extended season preview 2013/14.

Kuusamo: 30.11. & 01.12.
The wild ride of the winter 2013/14 kicks of in Kuusamo, Finland once more, the Nordic Opening uniting all three Nordic disciplines in a unique environment of darkness, cold and extreme weather & wind conditions – a special challenge at the beginning of the Olympic season which will be kicked off by a team event which will send patriotic feelings flying from the first second on. Will Norway’s Magnus Krog, who hasn’t been off the podium in Kuusamo for the last two years, strike again in the following individual competition?

Lillehammer: 07.12. & 08.12.
The beginning of December takes the athletes to Lillehammer, Norway, another traditional venue which also features return to the a freshly overhauled Birkebeineren skistadium, the scene of the famous Lillehammer Olympics of 1994. Two individual competitions offer plenty of points for the overall World Cup and good chances to soak up Olympic atmosphere before Sochi. Here, the Norwegian local heroes can look back on a winning streak of three years: Kokslien in 2010, Klemetsen in 2011 and Magnus Moan twice in 2012. Will some other nation manage to steal the landlords’ thunder this year?

Ramsau am Dachstein, 14.12. & 15.12.
Ramsau am Dachstein will see the return of the beloved Team Sprint and another another Individual Gundersen, offering enthusiastic crowds and beautiful mountain panoramas in this home World Cup for the Austrian athletes. What will Austrian youngster Mario Seidl show this season after he kicked off his international career big time last winter by winning the jumping competition with BIB number two.

Schonach: 21.12. & 22.12.
A pre-Christmas World Cup weekend in the cosy Blackforest town of Schonach will close the year 2013 with two Individual Gundersen competitions and the chance to get the hands on the traditional Schwarzwald-Pokal which has to be won three times in succession or five times in general to become the property of the winner. Can Jason Lamy Chappuis collect another victory and move further along the way to keep the trophy?

Chaikovsky: 04.01. & 05.01.
After Christmas, it’s off to new shores for the Nordic Combined World Cup. First time World Cup organiser Chaikovsky is gearing up to welcome the Nordic Combined athletes for the “Russian dress rehearsal”, only six weeks before everybody will return to Russian soil to fight for Olympic gold. Shun Yamamoto (JPN) and Geoffrey Lafarge both have won Continental Cup competitions in Chaikovsky last year and can maybe use that advantage over their World Cup colleagues.

Chaux-Neuve: 11.01. & 12.01.
From the depths of Russia it’s back to traditional Nordic Combined ground as another highlight of the Nordic Combined World Cup is on schedule: an Individual Gundersen and a Team Sprint in Chaux-Neuve, France. Local hero Jason Lamy Chappuis and his Fiemme-gold-decorated teammates draw large crowds of up to 15.000 spectators into the tiny French village with about 300 inhabitants, transforming the weekend into a folk festival without comparison.

Seefeld: 17.01., 18.01. & 19.01.
The Nordic Combined Triple does not only feature three competitions, no it’s also the third venue in the new year of the Nordic Combined World Cup. No matter who wins here this year will be making history by being the first Triple winner ever! Superstar Eric Frenzel has good chances to add this honour to his title collection as he won in Seefeld two times in a row last year.

Right after the Nordic Combined Triple, the next highlight will follow suit: the Olympic Games in Sochi. Part II of the extended season preview will take you to all stops of the later part of the winter!

Oberstdorf: 25.01. & 26.01.
Wedged in between the Triple and the next highlight, the Olympics, the German organiser of Oberstdorf has found its way back into the Nordic Combined calendar. Oberstdorf came to the rescue two years ago when there was no snow in Schonach. The Norwegian team and Mikko Kokslien are the defending title holders of the Individual Gundersen and team event, but rest assured, the German local heroes, spearheaded by Oberstdorf-resident Johannes Rydzek will be out for revenge. Rydzek will surely be going for a winter podium at his hometown after he won at least one Summer Grand Prix competition in Oberstdorf the past four years.

Sochi 2014: 12.02., 18.02. & 20.02.
It will be sports history when the Nordic Combined athletes go to Sochi to find their new Olympic Champions in the Individual Gundersen from the large and small hill as well as in the team event. The reigning gold medalists Jason Lamy Chappuis and Bill Demong will want to have their say in the redistribution of the honours, as well as the winning team of Austria.

Lahti: 28.02. & 01.03.
The final stretch of the season closes the circle and goes back to Scandinavia again. First up is the 90th edition of the Lahti Ski Games which again brings all three disciplines to one venue. Last year, all top Nordic Combined finishers were German with Eric Frenzel winning the individual and Frenzel and Rydzek succeeding in the Team Sprint. Will we see a revival of this German glory or can somebody else take the win?

Trondheim: 06.03.
Another returnee on the Nordic Combined calendar, Trondheim, welcomes the Nordic all-rounders back to the northern part of Norway. With Magnus Moan, Jan Schmid, Joergen Graabak, Magnus Krog and Haavard Klemetsen all living and training in and around Trondheim, this should be a true home game for the majority of the Norwegian team, drawing huge interest from the local crowd.

Oslo: 08.03.
A trip to the cradle of Nordic skiing, to Holmenkollen in Oslo, will of course not be left off the winter 2013/14 calendar. The Individual Gundersen competition offers one chance to the athletes to get their hand on the prestigious King’s Cup after Eric Frenzel and Jason Lamy Chappuis split the two wins last year.

Falun: 15.03. & 16.03.
The last race of 2013/14 is the World Championship test in Falun, Sweden. After 14 years away, the Nordic Combined World Cup is back in Sweden and some athletes from the late 90s are still competing: Todd Lodwick and Mario Stecher. Can the U.S. veteran repeat a position like his 1999 seventh rank in the Sprint competition? Or will Stecher show the others the back of his head like in his 1998 Sprint win?

One thing is certain: there will not be much time for rest as one highlight chases the next during the winter of 2013/14, in one of Nordic Combined’s most exciting seasons ever!