Oftebro takes advantage of Riiber disqualification to claim first World Cup win in Ruta

Jens Luraas Oftebro capitalised on Jarl Magnus Riiber's disqualification to claim his maiden Nordic Combined World Cup victory on an eventful day in Ruka.

Riiber had triumphed in the first two events of the weekend but was unable to complete a Finnish hat-trick after disqualification from Thursday's provisional ski jump proved his undoing.

Strong winds meant the ski jump could not take place on Sunday, meaning each athletes' provisional jump would count as their competitive effort on the final day.

Two-time defending World Cup champion Riiber was disqualified from Thursday's jumping for wearing a non-conforming suit, opening the door for compatriot Oftebro who took advantage in style.

German pair Fabian Riessle and Manuel Faisst claimed the second and third spots on the podium but it was Oftebro who stole the show after producing a thrilling 10km cross-country ski.

Oftebro's provisional jump on Thursday left him over four jump points behind the impressive Faisst, giving him work to do on the skiing section after Sunday's jumping was cancelled.

But he completed a brilliant turnaround on the Finnish mountains as he stopped the clock in 25:22.1 to clinch his first win of the season.

Riessle - who mustered over ten jump points fewer than Faisst - crossed the line just under two seconds behind Oftebro, while Faisst's time of 25:28.5 secured him the final spot on the Ruta podium.

Austrian Johannes Lamparter finished fourth overall, while Estonia's Kristjan Ilves was fifth ahead of Vinzenz Geiger and Eric Frenzel.

Geiger and Frenzel made it four German athletes in Sunday's top seven and national coach Hermann Weinbuch said: "I am very satisfied. Four runners among the top seven can be seen.

"We thought it would be very difficult to even approach. Fabi gave a lot of energy in his race to catch up."

On Riiber's disqualification, he added: "I'm sorry for him, but those are the rules."

Defending champion Riiber still claimed the weekend's yellow bib and sits at the summit of the overall standings, with Oftebro just 14 points behind and Lamparter - who finished second on Friday - in third.