December 8, 2007 (Trondheim, Norway) – American Bill Demong hadn’t been on snow since the U.S. Nordic Combined Championships last March until he got to Finland two weeks ago. He caught up in a hurry…on Saturday, Demong out-lunged Germany’s Bjoern Kircheisen at the finish to win a World Cup Nordic Combined individual 134m/15km event by seven-tenths of a second.

Demong was eighth and Kircheisen 12th in the two rounds of jumping. Demong started the 15km race quickly, taking the lead by the 6.3km time check and then stayed with Kircheisen as they traded the lead heading into the final kilometers.

They were stride for stride with Kircheisen in the lead at the 13.8km checkpoint and as they came into the stadium, Demong out-skied him at the finish. Germany’s Ronny Ackermann was third with American Johnny Spillane 13th.

The race marked the third win for Demong and his second consecutive podium. He was third last weekend in Kuusamo, Finland, as the Warsteiner World Cup schedule opened in biting cold. Temperatures in Trondheim, where Kircheisen won three times in December 2003, were just below freezing (-1 C., 30 F.).

Results (brief)

1. Bill Demong, Vermontville, NY, (8/3)
2. Bjoern Kircheisen, Germany, (12/1) 0.7 seconds back
3. Ronny Ackermann, Germany, (6/4) 8.5
4. Eric Frenzel, Germany, (3/10) 51.3
5. David Kreiner, Austria, (5/7) 1:01.3
–
. Johnny Spillane, Steamboat Springs, CO, (10/21) 2:16.5

Full results here.