Libertine Seguros said:
Frenzel and Rydzek are both very young and I have high hopes for them. Yes, it looks like JLC may be unbeatable with the likes of Gottwald disappearing, but then you're asking for an improvement in Kokslien's ski jumping that would not require any more of a change than for JLC to go from his skiing of 2010-11 back to his earlier skiing form.
The problem is not so much the lack of strength, it's the lack of depth. There are very few people in Nordic Combined who can be genuinely considered for podium places in events, so even if JLC is strolling away with the title, there's only a handful of people battling behind him. Nobody believes that more than about 10 people have a chance at the World Championship level. I don't think that World Championship level is poor per se, just that there are not enough people at that level, which hurts the competition aspect.
Yes they're young, but I've waited for Frenzel to come up and make the final breakthrough. Okay he's a world champ now, but in the World Cup races I don't think he has even podiumed this year in the World Cup. After good 2008 I thought he was going to be the next Ackermann but he hasn't progressed like that since. Rydzek is still very much an unwritten book.
And I think it's easier for Lamy Chappuis to achieve that leven in skiing, because he has done that before. Kokslien has never been good/constant jumper.
And guess you're kinda right about the depth. We're far from the days of Moan, Ackermann, Manninen, Lajunen, Kircheisen, Hammer etc. battling it out. Those races in the early 00's were really what made me a nordic combined fan. Nowadays the races are more or less boring, following two patterns. One is that someone has a significant lead over the good skiers and takes the win with ease, and the others near him are really poor on skis. And the other pattern is that good skiers jump decently and take the win easily. In both ways there's a huge group in places 4-15.
And the lack of depth seems just to become worse. All Austrias top guys are old and past their prime. Only Germany and France seem to be able to bring new flesh to the top scene. Though Jelenko's a nice surprise, I have big hopes for him.