Weekend Preview: World & Continental Cups (Dec. 14-17)

Park City, Utah (December 12, 2023) – The World and Continental Cup circuit continues this weekend for USA Nordic, with athletes competing from December 14-17. For the World Cup circuit, Men’s and Women’s Ski Jumping will compete in Engelberg, Switzerland, this weekend, with Men’s and Women’s Nordic Combined competing in Ramsau, Austria. Men’s Ski Jumping and Men’s Nordic Combined will also compete in different Continental Cup events this weekend in Ruka, Finland, with Women’s Ski Jumping competing at the Inter-Continental Cup events in Notodden, Norway.

Athletes Competing in World Cup Circuit
Men’s Ski Jumping – Engelberg, Switzerland: Andrew Urlaub, Casey Larson, Erik Belshaw, Tate Frantz

Women’s Ski Jumping – Engelberg, Switzerland: Paige Jones, Sam Macuga

Men’s Nordic Combined – Ramsau, Austria: Ben Loomis, Grant Andrews, Niklas Malacinski, Stephen Schumann

Women’s Nordic Combined – Ramsau, Austria: Alexa Brabec, Annika Malacinski

Athletes Competing in Continental Cup Circuit
Men’s Ski Jumping – Ruka, Finland: Decker Dean, Kevin Bickner

Men’s Nordic Combined – Ruka, Finland: Evan Nichols, Erik Lynch

Women’s Ski Jumping – Notodden, Norway: Estella Hassrick, Cara Larson

Men’s Ski Jumping Preview
Andrew Urlaub, Casey Larson, Erik Belshaw and Tate Frantz will represent the United States at the FIS Men’s Ski Jumping World Cup events in Engelberg, Austria, this weekend. Last weekend, Urlaub, Belshaw and Frantz all competed at the World Cup events in Klingenthal, Germany. Belshaw and Frantz qualified for the Individual HS140 World Cup on Saturday, December 9th, with Belshaw placing 36th overall and Frantz finishing in 43rd. Urlaub and Frantz then qualified for Sunday’s Individual HS140 World Cup, with Frantz finishing in 41st and Urlaub coming in 44th. Engelberg will be the 2023/2024 World Cup season debut for Larson, who was sidelined for multiple weeks with a shoulder injury. Prior to his injury, Larson competed on the FIS Summer Grand Prix and Continental Cup circuit earlier this summer. At the Summer Grand Prix in Rasnov, Romania, on Septemeber 23rd, Larson recorded a new personal best of placing 5th overall. This was the best Summer Grand Prix result for Men’s Ski Jumping since Clint Jones in 2002.

Decker Dean and Kevin Bickner will then compete at the Continental Cup events in Ruka, Finland, for Men’s Ski Jumping. Dean and Bickner represented the United States last weekend at the Men’s Ski Jumping Continental Cup events in Lillehammer, Norway. During the HS140 COC on Saturday, December 9th, Dean was able to place 38th overall. Going 113.5 meters for 88.6 points in the first round, Dean was unable to qualify for the final round of action. The weekend then wrapped up on Sunday, December 10th, as athletes competed in another HS140 COC. Bickner placed 44th overall, going 108.5 meters for 86.9 points, with Dean coming in 46th, as he went 108.5 meters for 81.3 points. Both Dean and Bickner were unable to qualify for the final round, finishing out their weekend in Lillehammer.

Women’s Ski Jumping Preview
Paige Jones and Sam Macuga will compete this weekend for Women’s Ski Jumping at the FIS World Cup events in Engelberg, Switzerland. Last weekend, Jones and Macuga jumped at the Inter-Continental Cup events in Lillehammer, Norway. During the HS98 ICOC event on Saturday, December 9th, Jones was able to place 6th overall. Jones was able to put together jumps of 86.5 and 89.0 meters during the competition, scoring 214.7 total points. Macuga finished in 18th, putting together jumps of 84.0 and 82.0 meters, for 185.8 total points. The final HS98 ICOC event took place on Sunday, December 5th, as Jones was able to place 4th overall. Jones jumped to 91.0 and 85.5 meters for 215.8 total points, closing out her strong weekend in Lillehammer. Macuga finished in 12th place, as she went 84.5 and 82.0 meters, giving her 193.5 total points on the day.

Estella Hassrick and Cara Larson will then compete at the Inter-Continental Cup events in Notodden, Norway. This will be Hassrick’s first ICOC competitions of the winter season, after competing in the ICOC circuit earlier this fall. During the ICOC events in Oslo, Norway, in September, Hassrick finished 15th overall in the HS106 ICOC on September 9th, and then followed up with a 14th place finish in the HS106 ICOC on September 10th. Last weekend, Larson competed in two HS98 ICOC events in Lillehammer, Norway, finishing 37th and 36th overall.

Men’s Nordic Combined Preview
Ben Loomis, Grant Andrews, Niklas Malacinski and Stephen Schumann will represent the United States at the Men’s Nordic Combined World Cup events in Ramsau, Austria. Loomis, Andrews, Malacinski and Schumann last competed at the World Cup events in Lillehammer, Norway, during December 2-3. During the HS98/10km World Cup on Saturday, December 2nd, Malacinski was able to record highest finish of the day, as he placed 25th overall. Loomis skied up to 28th place, with Schumann right behind in 29th. Andrews then held on for the 48th place finish. The final World Cup event of the weekend for Men’s Nordic Combined came on Sunday, December 3rd, as athletes competed in the HS140/10km event. Loomis was able to ski up three positions, recording his first top 15 finish of the season, placing 14th overall. Schumann was able to ski up as well from 37th, placing 22nd overall. Malacinski was close behind in 25th, after skiing up from the 33rd position. Andrews then closed things out, as he placed 47th overall.

Evan Nichols and Erik Lynch will then represent the United States at the Men’s Nordic Combined Continental Cup events in Ruka, Finland, this weekend.

Women’s Nordic Combined Preview
Annika Malacinski and Alexa Brabec will compete at the FIS World Cup events in Ramsau, Austria, this weekend for Women’s Nordic Combined. Last weekend, both Malacinski and Brabec represented the United States at the Continental Cup events in Lillehammer, Norway. During the HS98/5km event on Friday, December 8th, Malacinski skied up from the 6th position in the 5km, finishing 3rd overall, as she completed the course with a time of 15:30.4. Brabec was able to ski up as well, finishing 6th overall (15:41.2 total time), which tied her COC personal best. The weekend concluded on Saturday, December 9th, as Malacinski and Brabec competed in another HS98/5km COC. Malacinski continued her dominant weekend, earning her second podium finish of the weekend, placing 2nd overall, after completing the 5km in 17:04.9. Brabec recorded another top-ten finish, placing 7th overall, as she completed the 5km race in 17:15.2.

How to Watch

All Times Eastern Standard Time

Thursday, December 14th

  • FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Women’s Qualifying HS140 – Engelberg, Switzerland, Live Results on FIS

Friday, December 15th

  • FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Women’s HS98/5km – Ramsau, Austria, Live Results on FIS
  • FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Men’s Mass Start HS98/10km – Ramsau, Austria, Live Results on FIS

Saturday, December 16th

  • FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Women’s Compact HS98/5km – Ramsau, Austria, Live Results on FIS
  • FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Men’s Compact HS98/7.5km – Ramsau, Austria, Live Results on FIS
  • FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup Men’s HS142/10km – Ruka, Finland, Live Results on FIS

Sunday, December 17th

  • FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup Men’s HS142/10km – Ruka, Finland, Live Results on FIS

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