December 4, 2005 – Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) reached his first nordic combined podium of the season Sunday, finishing second in a sprint behind World Cup leader and defending champion Hannu Manninen of Finland.

Manninen, 11th in the one-round jumping side of the event, caught Lodwick with about 500 meters remaining and they dueled to the finish with Ronny Ackermann of Germany. Manninen finished four-tenths of a second up on Lodwick wile Ackermann was another .4 back. Bill Demong (Vermontville, NY) had a poor jump but moved up seven places in the 7.5K race to 28th.

Lodwick, who was 13th in the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer and says this is his final season before retirement, was fourth Saturday in the individual event. He said the comfort factor he feels in Lillehammer helps give him a boost.

“It was a good weekend. We were at ‘Go!’ speed all the way but Hannu’s so tough at that point…but I’ll take second. It was a good one. This one’s special; I won’t have any problem remembering my last comp in Lillehammer,” Lodwick said.

Coach Lasse Ottesen added, “It was obviously a good day for Todd and a drawback for Billy because he had that bad jump [and was 35th to start the 7.5K]. I told Todd this was the first race since I began coaching [last season] where I thought he could win the race.” Manninen was 32 seconds back of Lodwick to start the race but, the fastest skier in the sport, he made it close at the end before earning his third win in four meets this season.

“Our plan was to start slowly and keep getting better every competition, and that’s what Todd and Billy have been doing. We want them at their peak at the Olympics, not skiing so well in the first month of the season and then slowing,” Ottesen said.

“I’ve really got one goal this winter – a medal at the Olympics,” Lodwick said, “and this was a good step forward. I struggled with my jumping when we got here a few weeks ago but it’s coming back. I’ve got some of that feel again and that’s giving me more confidence.”

Lillehammer stepped in on short notice when unseasonal weather and no snow forced organizers in Trondheim to let go of the event.

Lodwick and Demong return to the United States this week and will compete in World Cup-B action next weekend in Steamboat Springs; Demong also will be in World Cup-B events in Lake Placid Dec. 20-21. The World Cup season resumes Dec. 17-18 in Ramsau, Austria, but the U.S. skiers will be back for the German Grand Prix after Christmas.

WARSTEINER NORDIC COMBINED WORLD CUP
Lillehammer Ski Festival
Lillehammer, NOR – Dec. 4, 2005
HS131/7.5K Sprint
1. Hannu Manninen, Finland, (11/4)
2. Todd Lodwick, Steamboat Springs, Colo., (2/9) 0.4 seconds back
3. Ronny Ackermann, Germany, (12/2) 0.8
4. Anssi Koivuranta, Finland, (1/19) 3.3
5. Georg Hettich, Germany, (10/11) 28.7
–
28. Bill Demong, Vermontville, N.Y., (35/12) 1:43.9