Gruber wins Nordic combined large hill event at worlds

Published Feb. 26, 2015 5:34 a.m. ET

foxsports

FALUN, Sweden (AP) Bernhard Gruber of Austria pulled away from Francois Braud of France on the final lap to win the Nordic combined large hill event for his first individual world championship title.

Gruber held a slim lead after the ski jump portion and then had the strongest finish in the 10-kilometer cross-country skiing race, attacking on the last uphill climb to leave Braud behind. Gruber finished in 22 minutes, 45.8 seconds, with Braud 11.9 seconds back to take silver.

Normal hill champion Johannes Rydzek then beat Norway's Magnus Moan in a tight sprint for the bronze medal.

Bryan Fletcher of the United States was fifth, 23.4 seconds behind.

Gruber helped Austria win both team events at the 2011 worlds and took silver in the large hill competition in 2013.