Stoch continues fine form in Kuopio

(MENAFN- Kora) The Olympic champion had to contend with high winds in Finland, which had seen Monday's qualifying cancelled, but managed to beat Severin Freund and Anders Bardal into second and third respectively



Stoch's victory - which follows his success in Lahti in Sunday - keeps him in pole position in the World Cup standings, 103 points clear of second-placed Peter Prevc



A tidy 126.5-metre opening jump gave Stoch 129.6 points, 1.1 ahead of Freund in second, with home hope Ville Larinto in third after a huge 129m effort



Stoch registered exactly the same distance with his second jump, but his consistency was rewarded as he finished nearly four points ahead of Freund



After going big in round one, Larinto could only manage 108m with his follow-up and placed 21st, Bardal taking his spot on the podium having placed fourth in the first round