ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — Austria’s Mario Seidl took a strong lead for the cross-country round of the Nordic combined World Cup individual event after winning Saturday’s ski jumping section.
The 20-year old Seidl scored 125.2 points with a powerful 142-meter jump, giving him a 13-second advantage over Japan’s Taihei Kato for Sunday’s race and landing him his third jumping event win of the season.
Cristoph Bieler of Austria came in third with 121.3 points and will start 16 seconds behind his compatriot.
Most of the World Cup standings leaders have skipped the event, leaving things open for a wide field of younger competitors. Among the contenders for overall victory is Norway’s Jan Schmid, who will start 22 seconds behind Seidl after scoring 119.8 points.
