Ruhpolding NC: Finland fastest in team sprint

Hannu Manninen and Anssi Koivuranta led Finland to victory in a nordic combined World Cup team sprint event Wednesday.

RUHPOLDING, Germany — Hannu Manninen and Anssi Koivuranta led Finland to victory in a nordic combined World Cup team sprint event Wednesday.
    Third after the ski jumping, the two Finns dominated the 2×7.5-kilometer cross-country to finish in 31 minutes, 22.5 seconds, 8.2 ahead of Germany's Ronny Ackermann and Sebastian Haseney.
    Austria's Mario Stecher and Christoph Biehler were third, 37.2 seconds back.
    France's Maxime Laheurte and Jason Lamy-Chappuis, who led after the ski jumping, were fourth, 45 seconds behind the winners.
    U.S. skiers Johnny Spillane and Bill Demong finished eighth. Spillane and Demong were eighth in the one round of jumping on Ruhpolding's 128-meter hill and posted the eighth-fastest time as each skied six times around the 1.25 km loop in the 30-degree, overcast weather. Brett Camerota teamed with Mathieu Martinez of France and they were 11th, 1:57.5 behind the winners.
    The third and final stop on the German Grand Prix, the series within the World Cup series, will be Saturday in Oberstdorf, an individual (15 km) meet shifted from Schonach because of poor snow in the Black Forest.

Nordic combined team sprint results
RUHPOLDING, Germany — Results Wednesday of a nordic combined team sprint World Cup event with one jump and 2×7.5-kilometer cross-country legs:

1. Finland (Hannu Manninen and Anssi Koivuranta), 31 minutes, 22.5 seconds.
2. Germany (Ronny Ackermann and Sebastian Haseney), 8.2 seconds behind.
3. Austria (Mario Stecher and Christoph Biehler), 37.2.
4. France (Maxime Laheurte and Jason Lamy-Chappuis), 45.
5. Norway (Magnus Moan and Petter Tande), 1:01.5.