Taylor Fletcher leads USA

Nordic Combined

Sun, Jan  16, 2011 - By US Ski Team

SEEFELD, Austria (Jan. 16) - Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) turned in a strong, balanced performance to score points and lead the U.S. Ski Team, finishing 29th in a FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in the Olympic village of Seefeld. Norway's Magnus Moan overtook World Cup leader Jason Lamy-Chappuis of France for the win.

The field was much more tightly packed after the jump than Saturday, when Lamy-Chappuis enjoyed a minute margin going into cross country. Moan, as an example, was just a minute back, versus two minutes on Saturday. In the first few kilometers, the top jumpers right behind Lamy-Chappuis dropped back into a pack 18 seconds behind. By the 5k midway point, Moan was in the pack. A kilometer later, he was on Lamy-Chappuis' skis. The two battled back and forth with Moan also holding off a late charge by Austria's David Kreiner to take a 1.6 second win over Lamy-Chappuis.

For the USA, it was Taylor Fletcher's day for another steppingstone result. Standing 32nd after the jump, he moved up steadily with the 24th fastest cross country time to just step into the points in 29th - his second career top 30. Brother Bryan, who had a strong finish Saturday, was off on his jump but moved up from 43rd to 36th. In a comeback from a knee injury, Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO), came from 48th in the jump to finish 35th, posting the 23rd fastest cross country time.

"Today we had some positives for sure," said Nordic Combined Head Coach Dave Jarrett. "Taylor got some points, which was good. Bryan didn’t jump as well as he has been but, in actuality, it was just a one off jump in the comp."

Jarrett was pleased with Spillane's return to action after knee surgery last summer. "Johnny is definitely coming back better and better," said Jarrett. "He needs to get the competition edge sharpened. While this is a new version of the hill here, he has always struggled a bit in Seefeld. But he's really psyched for Chaux-Neuve next weekend."

Olympic silver medalist Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) jumped to 26th but decided to sit out the cross country.

The U.S. Ski Team will continue to train in Seefeld until Tuesday. While snow is limited in Seefeld, it's reportedly better than in Chaux-Neuve where the World Cup will hold its final event before World Championships next month. Olympic champion BIlly Demong, a proud new father of a baby boy Liam, will return for the weekend before the entire team heads back to the USA to prepare for the World Championships which begin in late February at Holmenkollen in Oslo. The World Championships Team will be named this week.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS World Cup
Seefeld, Austria – Jan. 16, 2011
Normal Hill
(jump, cross country)

1. Magnus Moan, Norway, (24, 3) 24:36.8
2. Jason Lamy-Chappuis, France, (1, 28) +1.6 seconds
3. David Kreiner, Austria, (22, 5) +2.6
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29. Taylor Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO, (32, 24) +1:18.5
35. Johnny Spillane, Steamboat Springs, CO, (48, 23) +1:38.2
36. Bryan Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO, (43, 33) +1:42.0

For complete results: www. fisski.com