Mikko Kokslien first winner in Almaty
Nordic combined is breaking new grounds - and its getting more international. For the first time events are taking place on the new facility in Almaty (KAZ). For Mikko Kokslien it was a successful premiere. With a strong performance in the race the Norwegian celebrated his second victory this season, the third of his career. Bjoern Kircheisen of Germany and Japanese Akito Watabe finished second and third.
See also:
- 12.02: Results
- 12.02: Mikko Kokslien: With j...Mikko Kokslien: With joy to double victory
- 11.02: Results
- 10.02: Result list PCR HS140Result list PCR HS140
- 08.02: Competitions in Almaty...Competitions in Almaty, premiere in Central Asia
A result that wasn't obvious after the jumping. With Watabe, Kircheisen, his teammate Eric Frenzel and French Maxime Laheurte four strong cross country skiers were in a top position after the jumping. World Cup leader Jason Lamy Chappuis was only a few seconds behind the leading group but couldn't close this gap in the race.
It went better for winner Kokslien. He was 45 seconds behind after the jumping and continously improved his position in the race from 14th to the top. There the three athletes, that landed on the podium in the end, formed a group. Eric Frenzel could not keep up with them after a fall and did not finish the race. Also Magnus Moan of Norway didn't reach the finish line. He was disqualified due to an early start. It wasn't much better for local hero Sergej Sharabaev. The 26-year-old Kazakh from Almaty was lapped in the race and could not get a result.
So presented himself as the outstanding athlete in the race. On the final climb he broke away of the group and had a good lead on the finish line. Kircheisen complained about the bad air on the outskirts of the Asian town. "The smog and the time difference made it difficult for me", he said. Almaty is five hours ahead of central Europe so the competitions started at 7:00 am CET.
Kircheisen is the best German in the overall World Cup as fifth. but he won't be able to fight for the overall title anymore. Maybe four athletes still have the chance. Kokslien moved up to fourth with 644 points behind Italian Alessandro Pittin (692 points), who is not in a very good shape right now, and Akito Watabe, who, on the other hand, is in the best shape of his career, with 733 points. Jason Lamy Chappuis still leads with 938 points. He lost only a few points today with his fourth place.
Fans of nordic combined will also have to get up early on Sunday. The jumping starts at 7:00 am CET, the race at 10:15 am CET.
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