SEEFELD, Austria (AP) - Defending overall champion Eric Frenzel won his second Nordic combined World Cup event in as many days on Saturday after beating Johannes Rydzek for a German 1-2 finish.
Frenzel comfortably held on to his lead after the ski jump to win the 10-kilometer cross-country race in 24 minutes, 49.9 seconds. Rydzek came 26.4 seconds behind after overtaking Norway’s Magnus Moan with the finish in sight. Moan was 27.6 back in third.
“It wasn’t easy,” said Frenzel, who also won Friday’s sprint competition. “Magnus made up a lot of time in the first (lap) so I was a bit lucky he couldn’t keep up that speed.”
After his 14th career win, Frenzel is in pole position to become the first winner of a Nordic Combined Triple, a new format which adds the results of all three competitions in one weekend with the overall winner earning double World Cup points.
Only the top-30 finishers of Saturday’s event will be allowed to start in the final competition, which consists of one ski jump and a 15K cross-country race.
Frenzel now leads the overall World Cup standings with 553 points, 140 clear of Olympic champion Jason Lamy Chappuis of France and 148 ahead of Akito Watabe of Japan.
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