Moan wins Nordic Combined World Cup event
Norway's Magnus Moan won a World Cup Nordic Combined competition on his home trails on Saturday, edging runner-up Jason Lamy Chappuis of France by 0.7 seconds in the 10-kilometer cross-country ski race.
"What a wonderful day," Moan said. "It's great to win on my home track. This is the race where I feel the most pressure. I had really good skis today and when I'm among the leaders on the final straightaway I know that I have one of the best finishing kicks."
He proved it again after one of the tightest finishes in years. Only 4.2 seconds separated the top six racers.
Anssi Koivuranta, the overall leader from Finland, was 1.5 seconds back in third. Bill Demong of the United States, who won at Trondheim last year for his third career World Cup win, was 2.2 seconds behind in fourth. Germans Ronny Ackermann and Eric Frenzel were 3.0 and 4.2 seconds back in fifth and sixth place respectively.
Moan was only 20th in the opening ski jumping portion won by David Zauner of Austria earlier in the day. Zauner eventually finished 26th.
After three events, Koivuranta leads fellow Finn Janne Ryynanen 220 points to 174 in the overall standings. Ryynanen only managed 17th Saturday. Ackermann, the three-time defending overall champion, has 167 points in third place.
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