Nordic combined leader Jarl Magnus Riiber goes wrong way, erasing lead in cross country element

Jarl Magnus Riiber has had a rough time of it at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Forced to isolate for two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival, Riiber was only released on Monday ahead of Tuesday's large hill/10km Nordic combined race.

Individual Gundersen Large Hill/10km, Cross-Country

 Other placings

He didn't let that get to him though, taking a sizeable lead into the cross country leg with a monster leap on the large hill during the ski jumping section of the event.

However, after taking a wrong turn at the end of the first lap, he saw his lead completely evaporate.

It's not quite Lindsay Jacobellis in Turin levels of throwing away a lead – there was still a long way to go in this race after all – but it was still a major mistake that might have cost him a medal.

The 24-year-old Norwegian, who has won the last three all round World Cup titles and is only second in this year's standings due to injury, was clearly hoping to make up for lost time after his enforced isolation.

In the ski jumping element of the Nordic Combined, a gruelling event that mixes the skill and technique of ski jumping and the sheer endurance required to race cross country, Riiber flew out to a staggering 142 metres.

That gave him a 44-second lead going into the evening's 10km cross country race, which was at risk of being delayed until tomorrow as temperatures dropped to almost -20 degrees Celsius at the National Cross Country Centre in Zhangjiakou.

However, after completing his first lap and holding that lead, Riiber went into the finishing chute instead of continuing around on the regular course.

Realising his error, he quickly turned around and retraced his steps, but it was too late to preserve his lead and he was caught by Akito Watabe