Franz-Josef Rehrl bags first World Cup win at Chaux-Neuve triple

Franz-Josef Rehrl's supreme jumping made the difference as he secured his first Nordic Combined World Cup title with victory in the opening round of the Chaux-Neuve triple.

The Austrian jumped his way to 139.0 points and a 26-second advantage heading into the 5km cross country phase, duly making the most of his lead to stop the clock in 11:16.7.

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That was enough to prevail by 9.4 seconds, with second and third decided in a photo finish as Espen Bjoernstad held off German Fabian Riessle by the narrowest of margins.

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Fourth place went to Akito Watabe, less than half a second off the podium, after a strong surge in the latter stages of the race.

Rehrl takes victory on Day 1 of the TRIPLE

Mario Seidl, who had earned 133.3 jumping points to sit second at the halfway stage, couldn't hang on as he slipped back to fifth position.

This event marked the start of the Chaux-Neuve triple, with Saturday seeing the riders take on the 10km course while the 15km rounds off the weekend on Sunday.

Jarl Magnus Riiber will head into the second of the three as World Cup leader with 748 points, though his seventh place finish this time around marked his worst performance of the season.

Johannes Rydzek, who could only cross the line ninth in France, is second ahead of Akito Watabe while Rehrl's victory takes him to fifth place on 418 points.

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