Four out of four for Norway in Nordic skiing

Dec 10, 2011, 17:06 GMT

Davos, Switzerland - Petter Northug and Marit Bjoergen dominated cross-country races, Jan Schmid got a first Nordic combined win and the ski-jumpers upset favourites Austria as Norway ruled the World Cups in Nordic skiing on Saturday.

Northug, 25, got a commanding victory in the men's 30km freestyle race as he outclassed his rivals by almost a minute with 1 hour 7 minutes 43.8 seconds in the Swiss alpine resort of Davos.

Frenchman Maurice Manificat was 51.4 seconds off the pace in second place and Czech Lukas Bauer trailed by 59.5 seconds in third as Northug powered to his second season victory and 12th overall.

Bjoergen, like Northug a multiple world and Olympic champion clocked 35 minutes 59.5 seconds for her 49th career victory in the women's 15km.

Vibeke Skofterud was a distant second, 41.8 seconds behind and Therese Johaug third, 42.2 seconds off the pace, in a Norqwegian podium sweep.

Bjoergen, 31, won the season-opening sprint in Norway and a three-stage race in Finland before her latest success. She did not compete last weekend in sprints in Germany.

Northug commands the men's World Cup with 455 points and Bjoergen has 546 to dominate the women's list.

Schmid beat World Cup holder Jason Lamy Chappuis of France in Ramsau, Austria, to get his first Nordic combined victory.

Placed fourth after the morning jumping, Schmid won the 10km cross-country portion in 22:05.08 minutes, 2.4 seconds ahead of Lamy Chappuis and 3.0 seconds from German World Cup leader Tino Edelmann.

Norwegian delight was complete when their ski-jumpers got a little help from the wind at the Czech venue in Harrachov to hand the Austrians a first team event defeat since March 2010.

Anders Bardal wrapped up victory with 139 metres as he teamed up with Bjoern Einar Romoeren, Tom Hilde and Vegard Sklett for 993.7 points.

The Austrians, led by stars Thomas Morgenstern and Grogor Schlierenzauer, had 956.0 points and third-pladed Slovenia 888.6.

Sunday's Nordic programme will see cross-country sprints, and individual events in Nordic combined and ski-jumping.