COC: Lange dominates with three consecutive wins

The Lillehammer Continental Cup weekend saw an incredible performance from Germany's Jakob Lange, who claimed victory in all three Individual Gundersen events from Friday to Sunday. Demonstrating exceptional cross-country skiing prowess, Lange overcame significant deficits after the Ski Jumping portions to secure a clean sweep in Lillehammer.

Friday: Lange Closes the Gap for First Win

The first competition at Lysgårdsbakken HS98 saw Richard Stenzel (GER) take the lead after the Ski Jumping round with a 97.5-meter jump, earning 139.7 points. He started the 10km cross-country race with an 8-second advantage over Austria's Christian Deuschl (94 m, 137.7 pts), while Norway's Sebastian Oestvold (94.5 m, 137.2 pts) followed 10 seconds behind. The longest jumps of the day came from Finland's Eemeli Kurttila and Norway's Marius Solvik, both reaching 100 meters and placing 4th and 5th, respectively.

Lange, sitting in 15th place after jumping with 90.5 meters and starting 1:28 minutes behind, delivered a remarkable ski race to close the gap. Despite Stenzel's efforts to maintain his lead, Lange overtook his teammate and secured victory, crossing the finish line 12.4 seconds ahead. Jonathan Graebert (GER) completed the German podium sweep in third place, finishing 25.5 seconds behind Lange.

Saturday: Another Comeback Victory

The second Individual Gundersen event saw Norway's Espen Bjørnstad lead after the Ski Jumping round with the day's longest jump at 104 meters (138.0 pts). His compatriot Sebastian Oestvold followed closely behind (100.5 m, 136.3 pts), starting the race 10 seconds later. Kurttila (FIN) placed third with 96.5 meters and 130.8 points, starting 32 seconds behind the leader.

Once again, Lange found himself in a challenging position, ranking 21st after a 89.5-meter jump, 1:40 minutes behind. However, his cross-country skiing strength proved decisive as he worked his way to the front, eventually taking the lead and securing back-to-back victories. Christian Frank (GER), who started in 12th place after jumping, finished second, just 11.3 seconds behind Lange. Graebert completed another German podium sweep, finishing 15.2 seconds behind the winner.

Sunday: A Thrilling Finish Seals the Hat-Trick

The final event saw competitors move to the larger Lysgårdsbakken HS138 hill. Espen Bjørnstad once again led after the Ski Jumping round with an impressive 139.5-meter jump, earning 150.5 points. Jonathan Graebert (GER) placed second with a 136-meter jump (137.0 pts), starting the race 54 seconds behind. Simon Mach (GER) followed in third (134 m, 132.3 pts), with a 1:13-minute deficit.

Lange started from 10th place, a daunting 1:54 minutes behind the leader. However, he delivered another spectacular cross-country performance, skiing all the way to the front. In the closing kilometers, he formed a leading group alongside Aleksander Skoglund (NOR) and Mach, leaving Bjørnstad behind. In a dramatic sprint finish, Lange narrowly edged out Skoglund by just 1.1 seconds to claim his third consecutive win. Mach secured third place, 2.2 seconds behind Lange.

With his three consecutive victories, Lange leads the overall COC standings by 150 points.

The men's Continental Cup final will take place in Lahti (FIN), March 14th - 16th.

All Lillehammer results can be found here.