Armbruster beats Hagen in Compact sprint thriller: 'It feels fantastic'

Nathalie Armbruster (GER) extended her lead in the women's overall Viessman FIS Nordic Combined World Cup standings as she edged Ida Marie Hagen (NOR) in a thriller sprint finish in the Women's Compact in Otepää (EST) on Sunday.

The 19-year-old German had taken over the yellow leader bib from the defending champion Hagen after claiming her first and second World Cup victories in Seefeld (AUT) last weekend.

In the last World Cup event before the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Trondheim, Norway, later this month, she pushed past Hagen in the last hundred meters of the cross-country race to claim the third victory of her career, denying the Norwegian a ninth win this winter.

"It definitely feels fantastic," said Armbruster, who crossed the line 1.2 seconds before Saturday's Gundersen winner as Haruka Kasai (JPN) finished third.

"I didn't feel so strong before the race, I thought 'it's going to be such a hard race today' and it was a tough race, also against Ida."

The previous overall leader Hagen had been disqualified for a ski jumping suit infringement in last Saturday's Compact in Seefeld and because of that also missed the Gundersen race last Sunday. This was the first time that Armbruster beat the Norwegian superstar after a battle in the ski tracks.

"I can't realize it yet, it was such a tough race," Armbruster said.

"But then suddenly I realized Ida was also struggling and the coaches were screaming, 'you're so strong, you look so strong'. I don't know how I did it."

Hagen had kicked back from a crash-landing in the jump in Friday's Mass Start to take her eighth victory this season on Saturday. Starting 16 seconds behind Armbruster, she had caught up with the German half-way through the race and taken the lead into the second of two 2.5km laps. Going for a ninth victory this winter to equal her tally from last season, however, the 24-year-old struggled to shake off Armbruster.

Instead, the German stuck right behind her until the final stretch of the race, gathering energy to claim the victory with a strong sprint as Hagen had to settle for a second place.

"I'm satisfied with my performance and I'm impressed by Nathalie in the skiing today," Hagen said.

Behind the top duo, Japanese twins Haruka and Yuna Kasai battled it out for the last podium position.

Haruka Kasai, who had been runner-up in the previous two competitions in southern Estonia, made it onto her third podium this weekend as she beat her sister by 0.2 of a second to finish 17.2 seconds behind the winner.

"This was my first time racing six times in two weeks, and I'm really tired today, but I'm happy that I was able to come in third," said Haruka Kasai, who had started five seconds behind her sister.

"At the World Championships, I'd like to make adjustments so that I can win and not lose to Nathalie and Ida, or Gyda (Westvold Hansen, NOR) or Yuna."

Ten seconds behind Haruka and Yuna, who claimed a sensational first World Cup win in the Mass Start on Friday after Hagen's dramatic fall, Ema Volavsek (SLO) beat Marte Leinan Lund (NOR) by two tenths of a second to finish fifth.

Gerboth strongest jumper in the sun

In the best conditions of the weekend, with in sunshine and clear skies, the competition round on Sunday morning had set up well for an exciting cross-country battle.

Maria Gerboth, who had been eighth in Saturday's Gundersen, pulled off an impressive 96-meter jump that no-one else could match and earned 117.6 points to win the competition.

After Gerboth, with bib No.15, who was going to finish in seventh place in the cross-country, several stars had tried their luck on the Tehvandi hill.

Yuna Kasai made the second longest jump of the morning at 94m to get 112.7 points and Haruka Kasai was not far behind at 112.2 points from a 91-meter jump.

Hagen jumped 91.5m to get 109.5 points but had to settle for a fifth place and start 22 seconds behind Gerboth after Armbruster finished the competition round with a 90.0m jump that gave her 115.8 points and a second place, starting six seconds behind her compatriot Gerboth in the cross-country race.

Gerboth cheered for Armbruster in the leader's chair and said her strong jump, after a challenging weekend in Otepää, was for her 20-year-old teammate Cindy Haasch (GER), who fell in the jump on Saturday and had to leave the competitions on a stretcher.

"I had a crazy weekend," Gerboth said.

"The PCR was quite good but then the jumps were getting worse, so this is for my soul and also for Cindy. It is crazy that I could do such a great jump today."

Claudia Purker (AUT) in bib No.12 had finished fifth in Saturday's Gundersen and had the best result of the first round of jumpers on Sunday, flying 89.5m to earn 108.6 points. That brought her to a sixth place behind Hagen and a start position 26 seconds behind Gerboth.

"Yesterday was awesome," said Purker, who finished 11th after Sunday's cross-country race.

"I was so happy about the jumping and also my performance on the track. I really like this hill. It's a bit difficult because of the wind conditions but today I had luck and a good jump."

As the World Cup action takes a break for the World Championships, Armbruster has 1,005 points in the overall standings, with a gap of 102 points down to runner-up Haruka Kasai as Hagen is third on 872 points. If Armbruster makes it onto the podium in the remaining two World Cup races in Oslo, Norway, in March, the Crystal Globe is hers.

Click here for full results from the Women's Compact.