January 15, 2006 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – World Cup leader Hannu Manninen of Finland led the 10K race in a Nordic Combined World Cup mass start event Saturday and held on to nip teammate Anssi Koivuranta by one-tenth of a point. American Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO) was disqualified for a suit violation.

The mass start begins with a 10K race, then moves to ski jumping, a reversal of the traditional jump-then-ski format. Koivuranta, who has become one of the sport’s premier jumpers, had the longest jump on each round – 125 and 133.5 meters – but came up .1 short of overtaking Manninen, who had 243.0 points.

“It was tough, pretty frustrating. Johnny’s had the same suit for the last three competitions and he passed the first two and today he didn’t,” said Coach Lasse Ottesen. “It was a half-centimeter short in one section, so they DQ’d him.”

Ottesen, who staged a mini-jumping camp in Lillehammer, Norway, earlier in the week where Spillane was able to get the first sustained jump training since reinjuring his right shoulder in November. “It was a good camp and Johnny was making progress when we came down here. He just needs more jumps, and he needs more skiing…and he needs patience, which he’s shown.

“But the focus is the Olympics, and he’s going in the right direction, making progress, moving forward with small steps, not trying to get it all done in one day.”

The combiners have a sprint competition Sunday (Jan. 15) and then Spillane will return home. The U.S. Nordic Combined Olympic Team will be named Monday and the U.S. championships will be staged Friday at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

WARSTEINER NORDIC COMBINED WORLD CUP
Val di Fiemme, ITA – Jan. 14, 2006

Mass start (10K/LH)

1. Hannu Manninen, Finland, (1/10) 243.0 points
2. Anssi Koivuranta, Finland, (18/1) 242.9
3. Christoph Bieler, Austria, (14/2) 242.0
4. Jaakko Tallus, Finland, (5/6) 240.1
5. Jason Lamy Chappuis, France, (13/4) 237.5

Disqualified (uniform violation): Johnny Spillane, Steamboat Springs, Colo.

For complete results:

<http://fanmail.ussa.org/ct/ct.php?t=1119447&c=701371633&m=m&type=1>http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/1228.html?event_id=17429