USA Nordic Weekend Preview: Willingen & Seefeld World Cups

Men’s and Women’s Ski Jumping will compete at the World Cup events in Willingen, Germany, with Men’s and Women’s Nordic Combined competing at the World Cup events in Seefeld, Austria. Events will be held from February 1-4, and will be available to watch on skiandsnowboard.live or Peacock.

USA Nordic’s U.S. Cup Series

The 2023/2024 USA Nordic Sport U.S. Cup Series continues this weekend with two competitions, being held by the Snowflake Ski Club and the Salisbury Winter Sports Association. Events will be held from February 2-4 at both venues, with more information being found on the Snowflake and Salisbury websites.

Athletes Competing in World Cup Circuit

• Men’s Ski Jumping – Willingen, Germany: Andrew Urlaub, Casey Larson, Decker Dean, Kevin Bickner
• Women’s Ski Jumping – Willingen, Germany: Annika Belshaw, Paige Jones, Sam Macuga
• Men’s Nordic Combined – Seefeld, Austria: Ben Loomis, Grant Andrews, Niklas Malacinski, Stephen Schumann
• Women’s Nordic Combined – Seefeld, Austria: Annika Malacinski, Alexa Brabec

Men’s Ski Jumping Preview

Andrew Urlaub, Casey Larson, Decker Dean and Kevin Bickner will compete for the United States at the Men’s Ski Jumping World Cup events in Willingen, Germany. Last weekend, Urlaub, Dean and Bickner all competed at the 2024 Ski Flying World Championships in Kulm Bad Mitterndorf/Tauplitz, Austria. During the Individual HS235 event on January 26th, Bickner placed 37th overall, with Urlaub landing in 42nd place, as both athletes were unable to advance to the final rounds. The final event came on Sunday, January 28th, as Dean and Bickner competed with Erik Belshaw and Tate Frantz in the Team HS235 event. The foursome was able to tally 647.2 points in the first round, as they were unable to qualify for the final round of action, finishing 9th overall. Larson recently competed at the Continental Cup competitions in Willingen from January 27-28, where he placed 20th and 21st overall during the weekend’s two HS147 COC events.

Women’s Ski Jumping Preview

Annika Belshaw, Paige Jones and Sam Macuga will represent Women’s Ski Jumping at the World Cup events in Willingen, Germany. Last weekend, all three athletes competed at the World Cup events in Ljubno, Slovenia. Belshaw and Jones were able to qualify for the Individual HS94 World Cup on Saturday, January 27th, with Belshaw qualifying in 23rd and Jones in 33rd. During the Individual HS94 World Cup on Saturday, January 27th, Jones placed 38th overall, as she was unable to advance to the final round. Belshaw was able to advance to the final round and placed 21st overall, notching her second individual World Cup points of the season. All three athletes were able to qualify for Sunday’s Individual HS94 World Cup, with Belshaw coming in 28th, Jones coming in 32nd and Macuga coming in 36th. During the Individual HS94 World Cup, Belshaw placed 33rd overall, Jones placed 38th and Macuga placed 39th, as all three athletes were unable to advance to the final round.

Men’s Nordic Combined Preview

Ben Loomis, Grant Andrews, Niklas Malacinski and Stephen Schumann will compete at the World Cup events in Seefeld, Austria. Last weekend, all four athletes competed in two World Cup competitions in Schonach, Germany. During the HS100/10km World Cup on January 27th, Malacinski skied up to 28th overall, with Loomis right behind in 29th, Schumann then finished 32nd overall, with Grant Andrews finishing in 45th. The final HS100/10km World Cup of the weekend came on January 28th, Malacinski finished 25th overall, with Loomis in 26th, Schumann in 40th, and Andrews rounding things off in 44th.

Women’s Nordic Combined Preview

Alexa Brabec and Annika Malacinski will represent the United States at the Women’s Nordic Combined World Cup competitions in Seefeld, Austria. Last weekend, Brabec and Malacinski competed in two World Cup competitions in Schonach, Germany. The first World Cup of the weekend came on January 27th, with athletes competing in the HS100/4km event. Malacinski placed 11th overall, with Brabec in 23rd, as Malacinski was able to notch her sixth top 15 finish of the season. The final World Cup on January 28th was a HS100/8km event, as Brabec was able to ski up and finish the race 15th overall, with Malacinksi coming in 21st.