VAL DI FIEMME, Italy (Jan. 13) – Bill Demong (Vermontville, NY) protected his second-place ranking Sunday as he finished seventh in a nordic combined World Cup sprint. He had the fastest time for the third straight race and moved up 18 places after jumping. Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO) was fifth fastest and finished 11th.
Germany's Sebastien Haseney, who was two-tenths of a second behind Demong Saturday in an individual competition, out-skied Jason Lamy Chappuis of France in the sprint. He won by 0.3 seconds with Austrian David Kreiner third, 2.0 behind the winner.
Demong had a lackluster jump and was 25th, 70 seconds behind jumping leader David Zauner of Austria to start the five-lap 7.5K race. He churned through the pack, finishing seventh, just 10.8 seconds off the pace set by Haseney, who had the second-fastest time. Spillane moved up 16 places to finish 11th, shaving a half-minute off his deficit with the leaders as he finished 39.5 second behind.
“This has been the story since coming back after Christmas,” said Head Coach Lasse Ottesen. “They jump okay and then have a great ski race, both Billy and Johnny.”