Julian Schmid holds off Ryota Yamamoto to secure maiden 5km nordic combined World Cup victory in Ruka's event opener
BySportsbeat
Updated 25/11/2022 at 17:08 GMT
Julian Schmid usurped Ryota Yamamoto for his maiden World Cup win in Finland, as the opening nordic combined event got underway in Ruka. The 23-year-old overtook Yamamoto - who sat in pole position with an eight-second race advantage after the ski jump - with victory in the 5km race and finished 5.9 seconds ahead.
RUKA, FINLAND - NOVEMBER 25: Julian Schmid of Germany takes first place during the Individual Gundersen HS142/5 km at the FIS World Cup Nordic Combined Men Ruka on November 25, 2022 in Ruka, Finland. (Photo by Vianney Thibaut/NordicFocus/Getty Images)
Image credit: Eurosport
Julian Schmid usurped Ryota Yamamoto in the 5km race to claim his maiden World Cup victory in the opening nordic combined event of the season in Ruka.
With a leap of 143.5m and an overall score of 159.4 points, Japanese ace Yamamoto held an eight-second race advantage after the ski jump.
Schmid sat in second place while Mario Seidl - who was victorious in Thursday's PCR - was in third at the halfway stage, though was starting his race 44 seconds behind Yamamoto.
The German was the only person close enough to likely challenge Yamamoto and after a storming start to his ski, he moved ahead at the 2.5km mark.
And despite staying in touching distance, Yamamoto was unable to regain the lead as Schmid claimed victory by 5.9 seconds.
Jens Oftebro finished in third after a superb finish, overtaking Seidl and finishing 11 seconds behind Schmid to seal a podium spot.
It proved to be a disappointing afternoon for pre-event favourite Jarl Magnus Riiber, who was down in 18th following the ski jump and ultimately finished 14th - despite achieving the fastest ski of the competition.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement