2012/2013 Winter Sports Thread

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup

Northug wins stage four at Tour de Ski

Petter Northug exacted revenge on his Russian rivals to win the second sprint finish of the Tour de Ski in the 35km freestyle pursuit and his first stage from Cortina to Toblach.
The 26-year-old was part of a five-strong leading group that quickly fell to four throughout the fourth stage in Italy and this time was the first to cross the finishing line.
Northug had to settle for third behind Russians Maxim Vylegzhanin and Alexander Legkov in the 15km classic pursuit second stage that ended in a sprint finish in Oberhof.
However Northug, going in search of his first Tour de Ski title, wasn’t to be denied as he powered towards the front in the final metres to post a winning time of 1:16:32.
Legkov, third in the prologue that Northug won and second in the pursuit, was 0.7 seconds behind for second while defending champion Dario Cologna finished third a further 0.2 further adrift.
Vylegzhanin the Tour de Ski leader at the start of the day was the last of the breakaway four to finish, 1.6 behind Northug, while fellow Russian Ilia Chernousov was a minute back in fifth.
Despite the gap separating Vylegzhanin in first and Legkov in fifth at the start of the 35km freestyle pursuit, it didn’t take long for all of them to be bunched together.
Canadian Alex Harvey couldn’t match the pace set by them however and was too drop off and fail to catch up with the leading group’s pace destroying the rest of the field.
And Northug, who has won the most stages in Tour de Ski history, showed greater speed to win the sprint finish ahead of the 5km classic on Friday.


Kowalczyk wins but sees Tour de Ski lead cut

Justyna Kowalczyk took it easy as she won her second stage of the Tour de Ski from Cortina to Toblach, however, her title defence looks set to go right down to the wire.
The 29-year-old, who has won the last three Tours, began the 15km freestyle pursuit with a lead of 50.3 seconds at the top of the overall standings and that wasn’t to be bridged in Italy.
Kowalczyk skied from Cortina to Toblach completely on her own recording a winning time of 37.15.1 minutes to add to her victory on the second stage, also a pursuit, in Oberhof.
With four of the seven stages now complete only Kowalczyk and American Kikkan Randall have tasted victory although the Polish cross-country skier isn't guaranteed a fourth straight title.
For 2008 winner Charlotte Kalla produced a storming performance in the second pursuit of the Tour de Ski, making up well over a minute to finish second 18.3seconds behind Kowalczyk.
Norwegian Therese Johaug, second overall prior to the race 50.3seconds off Kowalczyk, appeared on course for second but was beaten by the flying Kalla and ended third 0.4 further adrift.
With bonus seconds added, Kowalczyk earns 15 for finishing first, Kalla ten for second and Johaug five for third, the defending champion leads the Tour de Ski by 23.3seconds.
Kalla occupies second and Johaug third with Kowalczyk satisfied with her cushion at the top ahead of the 3.3km classic individual in Toblach on Friday.
"It was very hard and I am so tired now but it was a really good win," said Kowalczyk. "For me it was the most important race and 23 seconds is a good gap."

 

[Smallville22]

Nordic Combined - Stecher out with knee injury

Austrian nordic combined ace Mario Stecher is facing a spell away from the slopes after sustaining a knee injury in training in Seefeld.
Stecher, who currently sits seventh on this season's individual leaderboard, landed badly after attempting a long jump during the session in Tirol.
The veteran of five Winter Olympic Games underwent surgery on the same knee last year.
Further tests will be conducted before a conclusive diagnosis is given but Stecher has already been ruled out of the weekend's meeting in Schonach, where he will be replaced by Tomaz Druml in the Austrian team.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Ukraine’s women romp to win in Oberhof

Ukraine’s women were a class above as they won the second 4x6km relay event of the World Cup season in Oberhof.
Juliya Dzhyma, Olena Pidhrusna and Valj and Vita Semerenko had finished second in the first women’s relay event of the new World Cup in Austria last month but the same quartet were not to be denied as the World Cup began again amid deteriorating conditions in Germany, comfortably winning in 1:20.16.1hours.
France staged a great recovery after a poor leg from Marie Laure Brunet to finish second by 45.9seconds and build over a minute lead on Germany on the last leg as they ended third.
Norway, who won the opening relay in Hochfilzen last month, had to make do with fourth nearly 30 seconds down on Germany and over two minutes away from Ukraine.
Veronika Vitkova ensured the Czech Republic were leading after the first exchange with Germany third, Ukraine down in seventh and France 11th courtesy of Brunet’s poor start which involved a fall.
It was all change at the second exchange as the Czech Republic fell to seventh with Poland and Germany moving to first and second respectively with Ukraine also up to third.
However by the final exchange Ukraine’s class had shone through with Pidhrusna handing over to Vita Semerenko with their lead at 43.3 seconds – something they ensured wasn’t to be breached.
France and Germany were neck and neck with just over a second separating the two before Marie Dorin Habert pulled away as the former finished second to deny the home team.


Bobsleigh - McSweeney aiming high as senior circuit looms

Nikki McSweeney admits the buzz of winning bronze at the Junior World Bobsleigh Championships is still there as she begins the jump up to the senior circuit with Olympic ambitions in mind.
The 24-year-old enjoyed a memorable end to 2012 as she claimed bronze with Youth Olympic silver medal winning pilot Mica McNeill at the Junior World Championships in Austria in December.
That helped earn both McSweeney and McNeill places on the British squad for the first senior World Cup race of 2013, and sixth of the season, in Altenberg this weekend.
And, having feared an Achilles injury would prevent her achieving what she has done so far, McSweeney is setting her sights high with the Sochi 2014 Olympics little over a year away.
"That's the goal [the Olympics] and is what any athlete aims for. It's got to be the target and hopefully I can achieve it," said McSweeney.
"Winning world junior bronze still hasn't really sunk in. It was the perfect Christmas present and it was just a fantastic achievement to get bronze against what are some of the best teams in the world.
"We were up against the US, Germany, Austria, some of the top juniors, so when we crossed the line and saw we had got the bronze we just thought 'wow'. It was brilliant and we were over the moon.
"I had a bit of a repetitive strain injury in my Achilles from all the pushing off on the starts and had to have an ********* which put me out for two weeks so I was lucky to be selected really."

 

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup

Kowalczyk wins again as Tour de Ski title looms

Justyna Kowalczyk took her second successive Tour de Ski stage victory in Toblach and third overall during this year’s event as she edges ever closer to a fourth straight overall title.
The 29-year-old was the woman to beat at the start of the Tour having won the past three crowns, that even more so after Marit Bjoergen pulled out after suffering an irregular heartbeat.
And the Polish cross-country skier hasn’t disappointed asserting her dominance as the Tour moved to Italy for the 15km freestyle pursuit on Thursday and the 3.3km classic individual on Friday.
Having won the 9km classic pursuit, in between American Kikkan Randall’s victories in the prologue and sprint, Kowalczyk comfortably triumphed on Thursday and repeated the trick 24 hours later.
The last of the field to start, courtesy of being the Tour de Ski leader, Kowalczyk attacked the fifth stage 3.3km classic individual to win by 16.5 seconds after posting 10:08.1 minutes in Italy.
Krista Lahteenmaki of Finland finished second for her first top-three finish of this season’s Tour de Ski while Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen was just 0.6 behind in third.
Anne Kylloenen was a further 0.6 adrift in fourth with a third Finnish skier Aino-Kaisa Saarinen fifth ahead of Therese Johaug, third overall, who finished sixth with American Randall seventh.
And, after making up time on Kowalczyk on Thursday, 2008 Tour de Ski winner Charlotte Kalla, who is second overall, lost a drastic amount after finishing 25.3 behind in ninth.
With just two stages to go in Val di Fiemme on Saturday and Sunday, the win and bonus seconds has seen Kowalczyk extend her overall lead from 23.3 to 1:03.6 ahead of Norwegian Johaug.


Poltoranin wins maiden Tour de Ski stage

Alexey Poltoranin won his first ever Tour de Ski stage in the 5km classic individual in Toblach as Petter Northug finished second to maintain his overall lead.
Poltoranin has scarcely been near the top ten during this season's Tour de Ski, let alone the top three, finishing a best of 13th overall in the sprint on New Year's Day.
However the Kazakhstani cross-country skier finally came to the fore in the fifth stage, a 5km classic individual in Italy, comfortably winning a time of 12:37.9 minutes.
Poltoranin's win doesn't drastically shake up the overall Tour de Ski standings though with Northug still leading after trailing the 25-year-old by eight seconds for second.
Champion for the past two Tours, Dario Cologna, was just 0.2 further adrift in third to jump up to second overall and prevent Northug from extending his lead too much
Alexander Legkov, second at the start of the day 5.7 seconds behind Northug, had to make do with fifth 15.7 behind in total with his Russian teammate Dmitriy Japarov fourth.
Northug heads into the penultimate stage, a 15km classic mass start, in Val di Fiemme now leading Cologna, who was 10.9seconds behind prior to the start, by 16.1.
Legkov drops to third 23.4seconds shy in total with Russian teammate Maxim Vylegzhanin, who was tenth in the 5km classic individual, fourth 42 behind Northug.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Russia win at unpredictable Oberhof

Russia became the fifth different country in the last five years to win the men's 4x7.5km relay race in Oberhof, Germany.
The last four men's relay races before Friday's competition had seen Italy, Germany, Norway and Austria all climb the top step of the podium.
But it was Russia's turn this time as Dmitry Malyshko brought his team home in 1:19:02.9 hours for the win.
Malyshko was trailing Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen heading into the final shoot but did enough to pip the 2010 Winter Olympic 4x7.5km champions into first place by 8.4 seconds.
Finishing behind Norway in third were Germany as Florian Graf held off the challenge of Ukrainian Andryi Deryzemla on the final leg.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Shiffrin crowned in Zagreb slalom

Mikaela Shiffrin was crowned a snow queen at 17 when she clinched the classic floodlit slalom in Zagreb on Friday.
The American teenager, who celebrated her maiden World Cup victory last month in Are, dominated both runs to win in two minutes and 1.73, leaving all her rivals far behind.
Sweden's Frida Hansdotter was second, like in Are, a considerable 1.19 seconds adrift while Canada's Erin Mielzynski, her country's own slalom prodigy, finished third some 1.76 off the pace.
World Cup leader Tina Maze, who had made it on the podium of the last nine technical events she entered, failed to complete the course for the first time this season when she straddled a gate halfway down the second run.
Surprised by her immaculate performance after recovering from 'flu, Shiffrin paid homage to last year's winner Marlies Schild of Austria, currently out of action through injury.
"In the second run, I actually thought about Marlies, the way she skied the second leg last year. I shared that energy with her," said the American, who received a coat, a crystal crown and a 60,000 euros ($78,300) cheque awarded to the winner.
Her only moment of doubt in a flawless display of class was when she found herself unable to open the bottle of champagne which was also part of the ceremony.

 

[Smallville22]

Ski Jumping World Cup

Schlierenzauer win sets up Four Hills finale

Gregor Schlierenzauer ensured it wasn't third time unlucky as he stormed to an impressive victory in the penultimate Four Hills event in Innsbruck and significantly boosted his title hopes in the process.
Schlierenzauer has played second fiddle to the returning Anders Jacobsen so far in the Four Hills, finishing second in both Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen as the Norwegian toasted two wins.
He appeared to be on his way to victory last time out in Garmisch-Partenkirchen only for Jacobsen to recover from a poor first round and jump within three metres of the hill record for the victory.
However there was to be no denying the 22-year-old on home soil in Innsbruck as he won by almost 13 points to set up a grandstand finale of the defence of his title in Bischofshofen on Sunday.
That's because Jacobsen wasn't even in the top three, finishing down in sixth as Poland's Kamil Stoch improved from fourth to second and reigning World Cup champion Anders Bardal dropped to third.
Schlierenzauer's first-round leap of 131.5m for 130.3 points effectively secured him victory with Bardal only managing 125m and 120.6 for second and Jacobsen 127m and 120.2 for third.
The Austrian jumped just 123m in the second round but it was still up there with the best and enough to give him an overall winning total of 253.7 points.
Stoch also leapt 123m to take his overall points tally to 240.9 while Bardal recorded 120m to fall to third on 235.4 while Jacobsen produced just 117.5m to end sixth on 230.5 overall.
Schlierenzauer now leads the Four Hills Tournament going into the final round in Bischofshofen with 827.5 points with Jacobsen second on 816.8 and the only man likely to challenge him.

 

[Smallville22]

Skeleton World Cup

Thees beats Uhlaender by 0.01 in Altenberg
Marion Thees extended her skeleton World Cup lead after winning round six by one hundredth of a second in Altenberg with Brit Lizzy Yarnold missing out on the top three by a similar margin.

German Thees has been the most consistent slider during a wide open World Cup season so far and took to the Altenberg track leading by just 14 points ahead of Canadian Sarah Reid.
However she ensured the gap between her and the rest of the field grew wider as she staged a fine comeback to claim her fourth top-three finish of the season on home ice and second win.
Thees was trailing both teammate Anja Huber and defending world champion Katie Uhlaender in second and first respectively after posting a time of 1:00.35minutes during her first run.
Uhlaender led by 0.17seconds ahead of Huber with Thees a further 0.06 adrift although the tide was to be turned after the second run with the American missing out by the narrowest of margins.
With times significantly slower, Thees clocked the best, 1:02.24, to jump from third to first with Uhlaender going 0.24 slower than the German to miss out on her third victory of the season by 0.01.
Huber fell to fifth after a poor second outing to allow Uhlaender's American teammate Noelle Pikus-Pace to move up a place to third and world bronze medallist Yarnold follow suit to fourth.
Pikus-Pace clocked 2:02.87 overall to finish third, 0.27 behind Uhlaender, with Yarnold just 0.06 behind in fourth for a third consecutive race without finishing in the top three.
She was again clear the best Brit though with reigning World Cup champion Shelley Rudman and Donna Creighton going in opposite directions in Altenberg.
Rudman was ninth after the first run but dropped to 16th, by far her worst finish of the season so far, while Creighton impressed in going from 15th to seventh.
Creighton has struggled for form after finishing fourth at the World Cup opener in Lake Placid but seventh is a vast improvement and marks her second-best finish of the season.

 

[Smallville22]

Bobsleigh World Cup

Crash denies Walker maiden top-three World Cup finish

British bobsleigh pilot Paula Walker saw a crash deny her a first ever top-three World Cup finish in Altenberg as Canadian Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries finally lost this season.
Walker and brakewoman Gillian Cooke appeared well placed to finish in the top three after producing the third best time of run one in Germany only for it to go disastrously wrong in run two.
The British duo improved their start by four hundredths of a second but were to fall from third overall to last after crashing during the second run as the Altenberg track appeared to slow.
Had Walker and Cooke finished in the top-three it would have been the best performance by a British women's sled for four years and the pilot's best since making her World Cup debut in 2009.
As it was they finished 13th, clocking 58.53 seconds in run one and 1:05.01 minutes in run two for a combined time of 2:03.54, 6.59 seconds behind winner Cathleen Martini of Germany.
Martini got the better of Humphries by 0.25 after the first run after clocking 58.10 to place first to her second and, despite failing to match that second time out, she took victory in 1:56.95.
Walker wasn't the only one to struggle though as Humphries fell from second to third after going over half a second slower on run two to end her unbeaten run in this season’s World Cup.
Humphries also took the final two World Cup wins last season and the World Championship title but had to make do with third in Altenberg 0.02 behind Sandra Kiriasis who was 0.30 adrift of Martini in second.

 

[Smallville22]

Skeleton World Cup

Dukurs posts fifth win in six events

Martin Dukurs continued his impressive start to the skeleton World Cup campaign with his fifth victory in six events, this time pipping home slider Alexander Kroeckel in Altenberg, Germany.
The reigning World Champion got home in one minute 58.44 seconds, beating the Kroeckel by 0.48 seconds to extend his lead at the top of the standings.
Latvian Dukurs has now won the last three World Cup races, and was the only man to break the 59-second mark in his first run – 58.96.
Kroeckel finished just above compatriot Frank Rommell, who claimed third place with a time of 1:59.36.
Dukurs' older ******* Tomass, who won the European Championship silver at the same venue last year, finished with a time of 1:59.74 to continue his charge up the rankings.
Brit Kristian Bromley, two-time World Cup winner and the 2008 World Champion, finished a respectable sixth after his two runs amounted to 2:00.67.
The 30-year-old – who became the first man in history to win the World Championship, European Championship and World Cup in the same season in 2008 – slid home in 59.96 on his first run but a time of 1:00.71 saw his chances of breaking into the top three diminish.

 

[Smallville22]

Figure Skating - Japan's Takahashi to quit after Sochi

Japan's former world champion Daisuke Takahashi plans to hang up his skates after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Takahashi, the 2010 world champion and Olympic bronze medallist at Vancouver the same year, told local media on Saturday: "I think my career will finish with Sochi.
"I want to enjoy the little time I have left and leave without any regrets," added Takahashi, the reigning Grand Prix Final champion.
He became Asia's first male world champion in Turin in 2010, briefly stealing the limelight from the women's competition where Mao Asada's rivalry with South Korea's skate queen Kim Yuna has become something of a national obsession.
Takahashi has first set his sights on capturing a second world title in London, Ontario, in March.
"My quad jumps are getting sharper," said the 26-year-old, world runner-up behind Canada's Patrick Chan in Nice last year. "I want to keep working to get them as tight as possible."

 

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup

Kowalczyk wins 10km classic to close on Tour de Ski title
Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland left the rest of the field standing as she won the women's 10km classic, the sixth stage of the Tour de Ski, in Val di Fiemme.
Kowalczyk completed the course in 28 minutes 12.9 seconds to beat Norway's Kristin Stoermer Steira by 33.2 seconds, with Krista Lahteenmaki of Finland six seconds further behind in third.
The Pole now leads the Tour de Ski standings by over two minutes from Therese Johaug with just one event remaining.


Legkov takes Tour de Ski lead as Northug slips back
Petter Northug relinquished his lead in the Tour De Ski standings to Alexander Legkov, while the in-form Alexey Poltoranin dominated the classic 15km mass start in Val Di Fiemme.
In the penultimate race of this year's Tour Northug, the overall leader pre-race, won the initial bonus sprint but it was Poltoranin who won his second race in succession.
The Kazakh won in a time of 39:01.5 minutes with the Canadian duo of Len Valjas and Alex Harvey second and third respectively.
Norway's Northug faded badly in the closing stages and ended up a full 29.3 seconds behind the winner in 28th, dropping him down to third overall with one race to go.
Defending Tour De Ski champion Dario Cologna of Switzerland had to settle for 12th, enough to keep him in second in the overall standings as Russia's Alexander Legkov, fifth on the day in Italy, moved to the top of the table.

 

[Smallville22]

Bobsleigh World Cup

Florschuetz and Friedrich share Altenberg win
Olympic silver medallist Thomas Florschuetz claimed his first win of the bobsleigh World Cup season in the two-man in Altenberg although it had to be shared with fellow German Francesco Friedrich.
Florschuetz, who has competed at just the last two rounds of the season in Winterberg and La Plagne finishing fourth then sixth, finished joint first with Friedrich on one minute 54.15 seconds.
He had led outright by 0.04 seconds after the first run but, along with brakeman Kevin Kuske, he couldn’t hold onto it as Friedrich and Jannis Baecker fought back for their first win also.
Friedrich actually missed the last two rounds but had three successive third-place finishes before that while Manuel Machata and Christian Poser ensured it was a German one-two-three.
Florschuetz clocked 56.96 for the lead over Friedrich after the first run with Canadian Lyndon Rush third 0.30 further back, Machata fourth and Brit John Jackson fifth.
However Friedrich got the better of Florschuetz in the second outing posting 57.15 to his 57.19 for a share of the win while Machata surpassed Rush to finish third 0.61 behind.
Rush settled for fourth 0.09 adrift of Machata while Brit Jackson, along with brakeman David Coleman, fell from fifth to 11th as his up and down two-man season continues.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Gossner triumphant on home snow in Oberhof
Germany's Miriam Gossner produced a strong final sprint to quash the challenge from current leader Tora Berger to win the women's biathlon World Cup 7.5km sprint event in Oberhof.
The two-time junior world biathlon champion started well, reaching the first shoot in the quickest time after a dominant first lap on home soil.
Norwegian Olympic gold medallist Berger was hot on her heels however, producing a stellar second lap to reach the second shoot 5.5seconds ahead of her younger rival.
There was nothing to choose between the two throughout the final lap though, with Berger holding a slender 2.6secondss lead over Gossner at the 7km mark.
But in the final half a kilometre, the 22-year-old German dug deep to record a winning time of 21 minutes 17.2 seconds, 2.0 seconds ahead of Gossner in second place and 24.1 seconds ahead of Anrea Henkel in third.
The three women are now battling it out at the top of the overall World Cup standings with Berger still leading on 442 points, followed by Gossner (346) and Henkel (320).


Malyshko takes first career win in Oberhof
Russia Dmitry Malyshko took biathlon World Cup victory – his first ever – in the men's 10km sprint at the fourth round held in Oberhof, Germany.
Malyshko, 25 - who only made his World Cup debut last season – produced a near-perfect shooting display to lead home a Russian 1-2 in Germany.
Malyshko and his compatriot Evgeniy Garanichev had just one miss apiece with the *** in hand with the eventual victory margin over 12 seconds.
The Russian victor clocked 25.07.9 minutes with Garanichev finishing in 25.20.5 minutes ahead of Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen completing the podium in 25.21.
After claiming the men's relay victory on Friday the 1-2 capped off a memorable couple of days for the Russian team.
However it is France's Martin Fourcade that remains at the head of the overall World Cup standings despite a disappointing showing in Germany.
Fourcade could only finish 16th and thus saw his overall lead shaved to 62 points by Svendsen who sits second with 355 to the Frenchmen's 417.
Russian Evgeny Ustyugov is third with 326 points after finishing the Oberhof sprint in fifth.

 

[Smallville22]

Luge World Cup

Fifth straight win for Wendl and Arlt

Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt began the new year as they ended the last with luge World Cup victory in Koenigssee to remain unbeaten for the first five rounds of the season.
Wendl and Arlt entered the Christmas break with a 100-point lead over Austrian duo Peter Penz and Georg Fischler at the top of the overall luge World Cup standings.
And the German duo, who won the World Cup title in 2011, extended their overall lead with a dominant victory as the circuit visited Koeniggsee for the second time this season.
Leading after the first run after posting 50.681seonds, Wendl and Arlt may have gone slightly slower second time out in 50.730 but that didn’t cause much damage as they won by almost a second.
Wendl and Arlt’s time was 0.876 quicker than that of German teammates Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken in second while Penz and Fischler had to make do with third 1.240 behind overall.
That is the third time this season that Wendl and Arlt and Eggert and Benecken have finished one-two with rounds six and seven again in Germany in Oberhof and Winterberg respectively.


Geisenberger claims win in Konigssee

Natalie Geisenberger extended her overall lead in the luge World Cup standings after winning the fifth event in Konigssee.
Her third victory of the season so far continued the German dominance of the World Cup this season, with only fellow countryman Anke Wischnewski and Russian Tatiana Ivanova also claiming wins in the opening rounds.
Geisenberger led after the first run, recording 51.253 seconds and ensured it was going to be a golden weekend for Germany as she was also quickest on her second visit to the track as well for a combined time of 1.42.325.
Carina Schwab was second quickest overall, 0.317 seconds back, while Aileen Frisch ensured it was a German one, two, three in Konigssee.
Canadian Alex Gough, 0.398 seconds back from the winner, interrupted the German dominance, trailing home in fourth, with another of Geisenberger's fellow countryman, Wischnewski, back in fifth.
The top three positions remained unaltered after the first and second runs, with only Gough and Wischnewski swapping positions in their second attempt.

 

[Smallville22]

Ski Jumping World Cup

Takanashi leaps to victory to keep World Cup lead

Sara Takanashi stormed to victory in the second round of the women's FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Schoenach-Schoenwald to maintain her lead in the World Cup standings.
Last year's bronze medallist Takanashi earned 96.5 points for her first jump, two better than the rest of the field, before replicating 96.5 in her second jump, giving her a combined total of 242.1.
The 16-year-old finished 17.8 points clear of her closest rival, Italian Evelyn Insam, who racked up 91.5 in her first jump and 94.5 in her second, giving her a total of 224.3.
Austrian pair Daniela Iraschko and Jacqueline Seifriedsberger finished joint third with a total of 219.2 points, Iraschko with jumps of 94.5 and 89.5, while Seifriedsberger managed 93.5and 95.5.
Despite matching Takanashi's 96.5 in her second jump, Norwegian Anette Sagen narrowly missed out on a top three spot, finishing just 0.6 points behind the Austrians on 218.6.
The result means that Takanashi remains comfortably top of the World Cup standings with a total of 440 points, putting her 130 points clear of second place.
Iraschko, who finished second in 2012, sits well behind Takanashi in that second spot, while France's Coline Mattel holds on to third despite finishing 12th in Germany.
Defending champion Sarah Hendrickson currently lies fourth on 276 points, 12 behind Mattel, after a disappointing 11th-place finish.

 

[Smallville22]

Nordic Combined World Cup

Norway wins first team event of the season

The team from Norway consisting of Haavard Klemetsen, Magnus Moan, Mikko Kokslien and Joergen Graabak took the first team event win of the season in Schonach today. After a very strong cross-country race the Norwegian squad crossed the finish line clear 48,5 seconds before the runners-up from Germany (Johannes Rydzek, Tino Edelmann, Björn Kircheisen and Eric Frenzel). The team from the USA joined Norway and Germany for their first ever team event podium as Bryan Fletcher, Taylor Fletcher, Todd Lodwick and Bill Demong claimed the third rank.
The result does not impact the lead in the Nations Cup Standings as the Norwegians were already ahead of France and Austria. After today's race, Norway accumulated 1568 points, France is ranked second with 998 points and Germany claimed the third rank with 997 points.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Hirscher comes back to win Zagreb Slalom

World Cup holder Marcel Hirscher took back the lead in the overall standings thanks to victory in Sunday's slalom in Croatia.
In one minute and 56.17 seconds, the Austrian also snatched his third win of the season and his second in succession in the discipline.
It was also his ninth back-to-back podium in technical events, a consistency seldom seen since Alberto Tomba in 1991-92.
"It makes me twice as glad to know I'm the first to achieve a double here," said Hirscher, simply stunning in the afternoon's second run.
Slalom World Cup holder Andre Myhrer had set the bar very high in the fog and on the rutted terrain of the piste.
Hirscher's ****** Ferdinand was slightly worried when his son took off though the Austrian was not.
"I simply did what my ****** always told me to do -- no pressure, only pleasure. It might have looked like I was dancing between the poles, but I'm an excellent dancer," said Hirscher.
Sweden's Myrher had to be content with second, 0.57 adrift while Austrian Mario Matt, another former winner on the Sjeme hill, came third over a minute off the pace for his first podium of the winter, the 35th in his career.
Hirscher's second top spot in a row in the Croatian capital could be, like a year ago, a turning point in the season since Hirscher now leads Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal by 51 points in the race for the big globe.
Hirscher could still increase his lead in the classic Adelboden weekend a week away with a giant slalom and a slalom on the programme, but he refused to look too far ahead and instead savoured his 15th World Cup victory.
"It would be significant if this was March 25. But we're only halfway through the season and this is not the time or place to talk about the World Cup yet," he said.
Local favourite Ivica Kostelic, who has taken part in all six editions of the Zagreb slalom and made it to the podium four times, had to be content with eighth, his ailing right knee proving too much of a restriction on the bumpy course.

 

[Smallville22]

Bobsleigh World Cup

Arndt leads German clean sweep in Altenberg

Home advantage was there for all to see as Maximilian Arndt led a clean sweep for Germany in the four-man bobsleigh World Cup event in Altenberg.
Arndt clearly enjoys racing on the German track, claiming victory there in last season's event.
And the World Championship silver medallist was at it again as with his team of Marko Huebenbecker, Alexander Roediger and Martin Putze the German's clocked a total time of 1:51.26 for the win.
This was 0.6 seconds ahead of compatriot Manuel Machata, with Thomas Florschuetz ensuring there was a German on every step of the podium as he finished third.
Arndt's victory propelled him to the top of the overall World Cup standings, 29 points ahead of Alexander Zubkov after the Russian was not in action in Altenberg, with Machata in third.
Great Britain's team led by John James Jackson could only manage 11th in Alternberg as they stay fifth in the overall standings.

 

[Smallville22]

Nordic Combined World Cup

Lamy-Chappuis top again in Schonach

Frenchman Jason Lamy Chappuis extended his lead atop the overall World Cup standings as he recorded his second victory of the season in Schonach, Germany.
The 2010 Olympic 10km normal hill champion has been consistent all season with his worse finish being fifth from round six.
But he could still only boast one victory from round three in Finland, but doubled his season tally in Germany as he held off the challenge of Japan's Akito Watabe.
Lamy Chappuis was fifth after the ski jump, two places behind Watabe, but was third-quickest in the cross-country to claim victory by 1.9 seconds from his Japanese rival.
Norway's Magnus Moan was quickest in the cross-country section but could only manage tenth in the jump meaning he had to settle for third, 4.9 seconds behind Lamy Chappuis.
Lamy Chappuis sits pretty at the top of the overall World Cup standings on 455 points, with Moan second on 383.
Watabe's second place in Schonach was his first podium finish of the season and propelled him into third overall on 229 points, level with German Eric Frenzel who was fifth in front of his home fans.