Nordic Combined: One of the lesser-known Winter Olympic formats but one of the more exciting all the same, as athletes combine sheer power with incredible endurance on the snow... everything you need to know ahead of the competition 

• Nordic Combined mixes the powerful ski jump with gruelling cross-country race
• There are three men's events - two individual and one four-man team category
• In all three, athletes perform jumps before a cross-country race to decide winner
• Sportsmail takes a look at the event and explains everything you need to know 

Nordic Combined is not a sport many casual Olympics fans will be aware of, but it is one of the most bizarre and exciting in the winter calendar.

It has been on the schedule since the very first Winter Games back in 1924 and includes three different sections for the athletes to try their hand at. 

Sportsmail takes you through everything you need to know for the competition at the Beijing Games.   

Nordic Combined 2022 Beijing venue

There will be two venues holding the Nordic Combined competition in Beijing, both within the Zhangjiakou cluster.

The venues will be the National Ski Jumping Centre, where the ski jumping section of the event will take place, and the National Cross-Country Centre, which, of course, will be host to the cross-country element.

With the first locally transmitted Omicron case confirmed in Beijing in recent days, Beijing 2022 organisers have pulled the plug on plans to put tickets on general sale, while foreign-based spectators were already prohibited.

Instead, there will be an 'adapted programme' inviting groups of spectators.

How does the competition work?

Nordic Combined is aptly named, as it mixes two very different arts in one sport:  the pace and sheer power of the ski jump and the endurance and tactical nous of cross-country.

The competition comprises two men's individual events and a men's team event, with no women's events scheduled for the 2022 Games.

The first individual event combines a ski jump from the 'normal hill', followed by a horror 10km cross-country race, and the second is a jump from the 'large hill' - followed by a 10km race.

After the jump, start times for the cross-country race are staggered, with the athlete who jumped the furthest getting an advantage over the other racers. Each start is delayed by four seconds for each point they trail the leader in the individual jump.  

On top of that, there is a four-man team event, with each athlete jumping from the large hill, before a 4x5km cross-country relay. 

What is the Nordic Combined schedule? 

Who are the Nordic Combined favourites?

There won't be any Team GB athletes competing at this year's Games. 

But Germany's Eric Frenzel - who claimed two gold medals in Pyeongchang four years ago - has the opportunity to become the sport's most successful Olympian ever, should he win all three events.

Norway - who, unsurprisingly, given the name, invented the sport - were highly successful at the 2021 World Championships, however, with Jarl Magnus Riiber - who took 'normal hill' gold - looking for Olympic success.

Meanwhile, Austria’s Johannes Lamparter won the 'large hill' event at the World Championships and enters in good form, while Japan's Akito Watabe will be hoping to avoid a third successive silver medal in the 'normal hill'.