American Tara Geraghty-Moats won the first-ever women’s FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Ramsau, Austria, Friday.

“This is something that I have dreamed about since I was about 10 years old,” she said after prevailing by 1.5 seconds over Norwegian Gyda Westvold Hansen, who had a 39-second advantage over the American going into the 5k cross country portion after scoring the highest in the ski jump. Tara finished fifth in the jumping portion and then had the fastest skiing time at 13:19.3 to seal the victory. Anju Nakamura of Japan was third.

The two-time Continental Cup champion came into the event a bit unsure of her jumping, but in the end, she relied on her experience to propel her to victory and the record books. 

“Coming into this competition I was really uncertain of myself because I had not put a bib on in 10 months,” she said, “and I had 10% of my ski jumping training that I had hoped to have. But all day long I just kept telling myself that I could do it one step at a time.”

Three other Americans also competed. Annika Malacinski was 28th, Alexa Brabec finished 29th, and Tess Arnone was 30th. 

Two other World Cup Nordic combined stops that were to include men’s and women’s events this season have been canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic. The first women’s nordic combined event is scheduled for February at the FIS World Nordic Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany.

“A huge thanks to my team and the FIS for finally inviting the women to the big leagues,” Tara added.

RESULTS
Women’s Nordic Combined

Four American women, led by two-time Continental Cup champion Tara Geraghty-Moats,  will make history participating in the first-ever International Ski Federation (FIS) nordic combined World Cup competition. Friday's event in Ramsau, Austria, is another stepping stone for the hopeful introduction of women’s nordic combined into the Olympic Winter Games program. 

The event was originally scheduled in early December at Lillehammer, Norway but delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, then rescheduled for January, and then rescheduled again for Austria.

FIS initiated a Continental Cup program in the 2018 season, with a plan to debut a World Cup level tour in 2020-21, along with inclusion in the 2021 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships this February in Oberstdorf, Germany. 

Geraghty-Moats, who won tour titles in 2019 and 2020, will headline four Americans. Also competing will be Tess Arnone, Alexa Brabec and Annika Malacinski.

“This is a very notable milestone for women's nordic combined to eventually be included in the Olympics,” said Geraghty-Moats. “It's much more favorable for us to have both a World Championships and a World Cup tour. And having a World Cup enables the field to grow and for us to prove that the sport is at a high level and show the world what our potential is.”

In the past two years, 17 different nations have scored Continental Cup points. 

“Over the past two years on the Continental Cup, there's been more competitors, more nations, and the level of competition has gotten higher. It's been really cool to see that transformation and see it happen so quickly,” she said.

National ski federations like Austria, Germany, and Norway are investing in their women’s teams with larger coaching and wax teams.

Nordic combined remains the only event in the Olympics without women’s participation. USA Nordic officials see the World Cup and World Championship inclusion as important steps but are continuing to push for a women’s Olympic event.

“Over the past three years of the women’s Continental Cup we’ve seen tremendous growth in both the quality of competition and number of nations,” said Olympic champion and USA Nordic Executive Director Billy Demong. “The World Cup debut is important, but it should be seen in the context of a step towards Olympic inclusion on the 2026 program in Milan-Cortina. The women have shown the depth and quality of athleticism in their sport and should be provided with that opportunity.”

As the two-time defending champion, Geraghty-Moats’ young USA Nordic teammates are looking up to her for leadership. “I’m really trying to just be their teammate and vice versa,” she said. “They’re working really hard and they have really great attitudes. They're just looking to do the best they can. It's really been amazing to have them here.”

It’s unclear now what the rest of the season will bring with an uncertain schedule leading up to the Feb. 27 World Championship debut for women’s nordic combined in Oberstdorf, Germany. While COVID is clearly impacting schedules and travel, Geraghty-Moats has felt comfortable.

“We are able to move around comfortably and safely, which is really important,” she said. “A huge thanks goes out to everyone trying to keep us safe - FIS and USA Nordic. There definitely is a lot of looking at regulations and having to plan ahead. And it takes a lot more energy and a lot more planning. But life is surprisingly normal here.”

Women’s ski jumping will also open its 2020-21 season in Ramsau with five Americans competing. Making the start for the USA will be Annika Belshaw, Anna Hoffman, Paige Jones, Nina Lussi, and Logan Sankey (Steamboat Springs, Colo.).

In men’s nordic combined in Ramsau, Taylor Fletcher and Ben Loomis will start in the second weekend for the men’s World Cup tour.

HOW TO WATCH

Friday, Dec. 18
3:30 a.m. FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Women's HS98 - LIVE, Ramsau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
7:45 a.m. FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Women's 5k - LIVE, Ramsau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
12:00 p.m. FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Men's HS140 - LIVE, Engelberg, SUI, Streaming Peacock

Saturday, Dec. 19
4:30 a.m. FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Men's HS98 - LIVE, Ramsau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
8:15 a.m. FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Men's 10k - LIVE, Ramsau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
10:00 a.m. FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Men's HS140 - LIVE, Engelberg, SUI, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Dec. 20
5:00 a.m. FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Men's HS98 - LIVE, Ramsau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
9:15 a.m. FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Men's 10k - LIVE, Ramsau, AUT, Streaming Peacock
10:00 a.m. FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Men's HS140 - LIVE, Engelberg, SUI, Streaming Peacock

For American Tara Geraghty-Moats, the long-awaiting debut of the women’s FIS Nordic Combined World Cup will finally come to fruition on Dec. 18th in Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria, albeit just a bit sooner than expected.

The FIS Women’s Nordic Combined World Cup was scheduled to debut in Estonia next month. However, due to rising COVID-19 cases in the area, both the men and women’s events were cancelled. Now, the first-ever women’s World Cup will take place on Friday, Dec. 18th in conjunction with the men’s World Cup nordic combined events, and also one additional event in women’s World Cup ski jumping.

“I am beyond excited for the first-ever women's World Cup,” Tara said from Norway where she is currently training for the season before heading to Ramsau am Dachstein. “Finally having a women's premiere in nordic combined is the culmination of so many people and organizations coming together to make this happen. I want to send a huge shout-out to everyone who has supported me and the other women on this journey. It has been a long time coming, but I'm excited to make history together in Ramsau.”

The timing for the event could not have been better as this provides the athletes with an opportunity to compete in a World Cup event prior to the holidays, and before the next round of Continental Cup events in January. Women’s nordic combined will also have its World Championship debut Feb. 22 - March 7 in Oberstdorf, Germany.

“We would like to express a huge thanks to the Austrian Ski Federation and the organizers in Ramsau for their fantastic support in picking up this event, especially in the trying times we are currently in,” said FIS Nordic Combined Race Director Lasse Ottesen. “For our women, this is a world premiere and will therefore be an event to enter the history books. We can’t wait for this to finally happen and already look forward to the event immensely,”

Tara has been leading the women’s movement toward including nordic combined in the World Cup, World Championship, and hopefully someday, the Olympic Winter Games. Her athletic resume speaks volumes about the amount of hard work she has put into the sport, including finishing second in the first-ever women’s international nordic combined event and winning the overall title in the inaugural women’s Summer Grand Prix in 2018. Despite being one of the top competitors, she heads to Austria next week with one goal in mind - just enjoy the experience!

“I have no expectations for my first Nordic Combined World Cup,” she said. “It will be 10 months since I put on a bib, and I had only one month of jumping during that time. My plan is to do the best I can and enjoy the historical experience.”

The first-ever women’s FIS Nordic Combined World Cup will begin with a preliminary round on Thursday, Dec. 17 HS98/5k, followed with the official World Cup debut on Friday, Dec. 18 with an HS98/5k event.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes return to FIS World Cup competition this month, and the networks of NBC will broadcast more than 75 hours of live and same-day coverage in November and December on NBC, NBC Sports Network, and The Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, from Levi and Ruka, Finland, Lillehammer, Norway, and Copper Mountain Colorado. Coverage begins with the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup women’s slalom from Levi on Saturday, Nov. 21.

NBC Sports’ presentation of the 2020-21 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup season begins with the women’s slalom from Levi, Finland, next Saturday, Nov. 21, at 7 a.m. ET live on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and OlympicChannel.com. An encore presentation of the race will be presented later in the evening at 12 a.m. ET on NBCSN.

The winningest slalom skier of all time and three-time Olympic medalist Mikaela Shiffrin is expected to make her 2020-21 FIS Ski World Cup competition season debut in Levi, and the Olympic Channel will broadcast the second run slalom event live on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7 a.m. EST. Mikaela owns four career victories at the World Cup stop in Finland, including winning there in each of the last two seasons. NBC Sports’ Steve Schlanger (play-by-play) will call the action alongside former U.S. Ski Team alumnus speed skier Steve Porino (analyst).

The Olympic Channel will also provide live coverage of the FIS Cross Country World Cup sprint, skiathlon, and team sprint events from Lillehammer, Norway, Dec. 4-6; and same-day coverage of the FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls from Ruka, Norway, on Dec. 5. NBC, NBCSN, and the Olympic Channel will provide live and same-day coverage of the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, and the Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover from Copper Mountain, Colo., Dec. 18-19.

Last week NBC announced exclusive streaming of winter Olympic sports has moved from NBC Sports Gold’s “Snow Pass” to Peacock Premium. Peacock Premium will also become the exclusive home to all FIS events held in Austria, beginning with the FIS Freeski World Cup in Stubai, Austria on Nov. 21. Peacock Premium will also provide live streaming coverage of alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, ski jumping, nordic combined, and snowboard events throughout the season. 

Check out the current television broadcast and streaming schedule for November and December for all sports are available here. Sport-specific broadcast and streaming schedules are available below:

• Alpine
• Cross Country
• Freeski
• Freestyle
• Ski Jumping
• Nordic Combined
• Snowboard

Broadcast and streaming schedules on Peacock Premium will be updated on a weekly basis throughout the season.