Watabe digs deep for Lahti victory

Japan's Akito Watabe was delighted to prevail in a tactical tussle with World Cup leader Jarl Magnus Riiber and claim a landmark victory in Lahti, Finland.

The 32-year-old was reeled in by Riiber with less than 2km left in the Gundersen but found the legs for a second lone attack, prevailing by 10.8s.

It was Watabe's 19th World Cup win, drawing level with Kenji Ogiwara who is the most decorated Japanese athlete of all time in the sport.

"It was such a hard race on the track against Jarl," said Watabe.

"He tried to catch up fast and when he caught us, he tried to bring the pace down. I saw that, and tried to attack. Maybe he was tired and I was able to break away.

"I'm really satisfied with my performance on the hill and the track, so it was a perfect day."

The field were greeted with a welcoming head wind on the large hill and the Japanese excelled, Ryota Yamamoto flying furthest and racking up 132.3 points.

That only earned him a one-second advantage over Watabe and the pair led for the first 5km of the ski before Riiber double-poled furiously to overhaul his 28-second deficit.

It wouldn't be enough for the Norwegian as he settled for silver with 23-year-old Yamamoto claiming bronze, his first-ever World Cup medal. Sportsbeat 2021