Home favourite Magnus Krog edged Germany’s Fabian Riessle to claim gold in the second Individual Gundersen event at the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Lillehammer ©Getty Images

Home favourite Magnus Krog edged Germany’s Fabian Riessle to claim gold in the second Individual Gundersen event at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Nordic Combined World Cup in Lillehammer.

Krog’s winning time of 25 min 41.8sec was just one second faster than Riessle, who was aiming to make it two gold medals in as many days.

The remaining spot on the podium was taken up by Austria’s Lukas Klapfer, 1.9 seconds off the pace.

It was Klapfer’s compatriot Mario Seidl who took the win in the jumping round with a distance of 101 metres.

A total of 129.9 points put him five seconds ahead of provisional competition round winner Szczepan Kupczak of Poland and 19 seconds clear of his team-mate Wilhelm Denifl.

The race quickly developed into a tense affair as a large group of athletes, including Krog who started 48 seconds behind, caught up with the leaders Seidl and Kupczak.

The group skied together for long stretches with Krog, Klapfer and Japan’s Akito Watabe alternating in the lead.

Germany's Fabian Riessle fell just short of making it back-to-back victories
Germany's Fabian Riessle fell just short of making it back-to-back victories ©Getty Images

Time and again, Krog managed to gain a few metres on his pursuers but could not make his advantage tell.

Only on the last lap did he take the lead, expertly overtaking Riessle with a sharp turn and then skiing away on the uphill that followed. 

Krog went on to secure only his second-ever World Cup victory and first on home soil. 

"It was very fun to win again, said the Norwegian.

"It’s been several years since I was on top.

"I was very satisfied with my jumping and it was a good race - I felt strong.

"Now it’s 14 days until the next competition in Ramsau, so me and my team are going to do some training and keep up the work there so we’re ready to rumble again."

Behind the winner, Riessle proved once more that he is one of the strongest sprinters in the field, leaving third place to Klapfer who returned to the podium after his first World Cup victory in Schonach, Germany last year.


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