The Art of Balance | with Vinzenz Geiger
Mastering Nordic Combined means balancing two distinct worlds: cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The challenge lies in the contrast. A complexity often overlooked by those outside the sport.
Training for Nordic Combined requires athletes to dedicate many hours to building endurance, but also to spend countless days perfecting explosive power and precision on the ski jump—skills that demand an entirely different mindset.
2025 Overall World Cup Winner Vinzenz Geiger – and 2022 Olympic Champion – gives some insights into the sport and his perspective as to how to find the right balance between the two sports.
How do you balance training for ski jumping and cross-country skiing? Is there a typical ratio between the two sports?
The ratio between ski jumping and cross-country skiing in training is not easily generalized. In cross-country skiing, endurance is measured in hours, while in ski jumping, the number of jumps is crucial—along with strength, coordination, and specific dry training. When looking at training time, you could say it’s about a 50:50 split.
What challenges arise when training for two such different sports?
The biggest challenge lies in balancing the different demands of each sport. In ski jumping, you need to be light, explosive, and agile. In cross-country skiing, on the other hand, endurance and many hours of training are key. It’s important not to overemphasize one discipline over the other. If you focus too much on cross-country skiing and the endurance side, your explosive power suffers; if you don’t train endurance enough, it negatively impacts your cross-country skiing performance.
What role does nutrition play in both sports, and how do you find the right balance?
Nutrition plays a significant role, as in any sport. For us, it’s particularly important to maintain a healthy and balanced diet without going to extremes. Since we need both endurance and explosive power, we shouldn’t be too heavy for ski jumping but still need to have enough strength. Finding the right balance is key here.
What are the differences in strength training for ski jumping and cross-country skiing?
There are clear differences in strength training. In cross-country skiing, the focus is more on strengthening the core and torso. In ski jumping, we work a lot on explosive power with exercises like jumps and squats. These are two completely different approaches.
Are there aspects of ski jump training that support your cross-country performance and vice versa?
Yes, definitely. For example, core training benefits both cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The exercises we do for explosiveness in ski jumping also help in cross-country skiing, particularly in sprints towards the end of a race.
Can you describe the “feeling” of both sports?
Ski jumping is pure adrenaline. Everything comes down to that one moment—you only have one jump in a competition, and it has to be perfect. Cross-country skiing is the opposite: you have about 25 minutes to give it your all. Here, mental strength and tactical pacing of the race are crucial. The balance between both sports is what makes it special: if a jump isn’t perfect, I can fight back in the cross-country race and maybe even pass some of the other guys.
How do you unwind? Do you have hobbies outside of sports?
Aside from skiing, I’m still a big sports fan. I enjoy road cycling, being in the mountains, or playing football and tennis—which is still training but also serves as a form of relaxation for me. When it’s not sports-related, I like playing card games with my friends.
