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Local hero Kokslien sprints to win in Lillehammer
Local hero Mikko Kokslien has claimed the top position in today’s second Individual Gundersen race in Lillehammer. After a great race with a riveting sprint for the finish, he crossed the line first, 0.3 seconds ahead of Fabian Rießle on the silver position. The third rank went to Jason Lamy Chappuis from France.
Japan’s Yoshito Watabe returned into the circle of jumping favourites with his win in the competition round today. With 133 metres, he scored a total of 131.5 points and was rewarded with a lead of six seconds over French superstar and previous year’s winner Jason Lamy Chappuis. He jumped 132 metres and was followed by Christoph Bieler whose 132.5 metre jump took him to the third place with 10 seconds of time behind on Watabe. Haavard Klemetsen took up the fourth spot with 131.5 metres and 13 seconds of time behind. The longest jump of the round went to Eric Frenzel who landed at 136.5 metres and ranked fifth with a total of 128 points and started only 14 seconds after Watabe.
The favourites were set and clear for the race with Lamy Chappuis in second and Frenzel in fifth position but also Akito Watabe was aiming for the podium with only 20 seconds of time behind as well as Bernhard Gruber and Magnus Moan with +0:49 and and +1:12. Another group of fast skiers lurked at ranks 38 and 39 with Mikko Kokslien and Johannes Rydzek who had +1:38 and +1:50 to make up but still skied through the whole field in yesterday’s competition. Team Norway’s Joergen Graabak and Magnus Krog had a black day today with Krog being eliminated in the qualification round held before the competition round and Graabak finishing last in the competition round after a jump of only 101.5 metres.
The race turned into a true nail biter when a leading group of eight athletes formed and stayed together for long stretches of the way. Akito Watabe, Eric Frenzel, Tino Edelmann and Jason Lamy Chappuis alternated with the lead but the basic tempo was not very high in the first half of the race. This allowed the fast skiers to catch up and for the last lap, the leading group extended to 12 athletes who were all going towards the finish line together. Fast Norwegians Mikko Kokslien and Magnus Moan as well as USA’s Bryan Fletcher and Fabian Riessle joined the leading group and turned the race their way.
In the end, an intense fight broke out between local hero Kokslien and Germany’s Fabian Riessle in which Kokslien, pushed by a frenetic audience, had the best end. He won the sprint on the finish line and took his second victory at his home venue, narrowly beating out Riessle who stays in the yellow bib. Jason Lamy Chappuis narrowly won a finish line sprint with Germany’s Tino Edelmann and completed the podium.
The rest of the Top Ten positions went to Eric Frenzel, Magnus Moan, Haavard Klemetsen, Bryan Fletcher, Akito Watabe and Miroslav Dvorak.
Japan’s Yoshito Watabe returned into the circle of jumping favourites with his win in the competition round today. With 133 metres, he scored a total of 131.5 points and was rewarded with a lead of six seconds over French superstar and previous year’s winner Jason Lamy Chappuis. He jumped 132 metres and was followed by Christoph Bieler whose 132.5 metre jump took him to the third place with 10 seconds of time behind on Watabe. Haavard Klemetsen took up the fourth spot with 131.5 metres and 13 seconds of time behind. The longest jump of the round went to Eric Frenzel who landed at 136.5 metres and ranked fifth with a total of 128 points and started only 14 seconds after Watabe.
The favourites were set and clear for the race with Lamy Chappuis in second and Frenzel in fifth position but also Akito Watabe was aiming for the podium with only 20 seconds of time behind as well as Bernhard Gruber and Magnus Moan with +0:49 and and +1:12. Another group of fast skiers lurked at ranks 38 and 39 with Mikko Kokslien and Johannes Rydzek who had +1:38 and +1:50 to make up but still skied through the whole field in yesterday’s competition. Team Norway’s Joergen Graabak and Magnus Krog had a black day today with Krog being eliminated in the qualification round held before the competition round and Graabak finishing last in the competition round after a jump of only 101.5 metres.
The race turned into a true nail biter when a leading group of eight athletes formed and stayed together for long stretches of the way. Akito Watabe, Eric Frenzel, Tino Edelmann and Jason Lamy Chappuis alternated with the lead but the basic tempo was not very high in the first half of the race. This allowed the fast skiers to catch up and for the last lap, the leading group extended to 12 athletes who were all going towards the finish line together. Fast Norwegians Mikko Kokslien and Magnus Moan as well as USA’s Bryan Fletcher and Fabian Riessle joined the leading group and turned the race their way.
In the end, an intense fight broke out between local hero Kokslien and Germany’s Fabian Riessle in which Kokslien, pushed by a frenetic audience, had the best end. He won the sprint on the finish line and took his second victory at his home venue, narrowly beating out Riessle who stays in the yellow bib. Jason Lamy Chappuis narrowly won a finish line sprint with Germany’s Tino Edelmann and completed the podium.
The rest of the Top Ten positions went to Eric Frenzel, Magnus Moan, Haavard Klemetsen, Bryan Fletcher, Akito Watabe and Miroslav Dvorak.
Source: fis-ski.com
