Espen Andersen leads Norwegian Nordic Combined domination in Lillehammer
BySportsbeat
Updated 03/12/2017 at 18:42 GMT
Espen Andersen's stunning ski jump effort paved the way for a Norwegian clean sweep on the Nordic Combined World Cup podium in Lillehammer.
Espen Andersen of Norway takes joint 1st place, Jan Schmid of Norway takes joint 2nd place, Joergen Graabak of Norway takes 3rd place during the FIS Nordic World Cup Nordic Combined HS138 / Ind Gund on December 3, 2017 in Lillehammer, Norway.
Image credit: Getty Images
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Andersen on top in Lillehammer Nordic Combined
The 24-year-old defied the tricky conditions to lead the way at the halfway stage, making the most of his significant advantage to hold out for the win after the cross-country stage.
Starting 18 seconds clear having taken 138m and 147.4 points from the jump, Andersen was far from the quickest across the snow but it mattered little, as he eventually emerged victorious by 3.4 seconds.
If that pleased the home crowd then they'd have been even more delighted to see Jan Schmid take second, while Joergen Graabak rounded off a Norway triple on the podium.
That marked a major leap from Schmid having sat 11th after the jump, while double Olympic champion Graabak improved on his ninth-place position to make his way into the top three also, holding off Johannes Rydzek by just 0.1s.
That added to Graabak's victory from day one in Lillehammer, with this far from the worst weekend he will have on the snow.
Espen Bjoernstad, who had performed the second-best jump, slipped down to 11th come the final assault.
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