Stoch back with a bang in Sapporo

The 29-year-old from Poland beat out halfway leader Andreas Wellinger of Germany and Austria's Stefan Kraft, with jumps of 137.5m and 140m for a total of 262.7 on Sunday enough to top the podium.

The result sees him pull away once more atop the overall standings, with Kraft – who managed the longest jump of anyone on Sunday with 144m – now 140 points behind heading into the 20th competition of the season next week in PyeongChang.

Double Olympic champion Stoch had finished a frustrating 18th the day beforehand, but admitted everything had clicked into place as he notched up his 21st World Cup win.

"Today was a much better day for me," he said. "Yesterday something was not right, I could not find a good system, especially in the phase of flight. But today I knew what to do.

"After analyzing the coach had some points to implement and that I tried to hold on. Needless to say, they were difficult conditions so you have to have some luck.

"I'm not afraid to lose the yellow [overall leader's] bib. I don't really care if I get to wear it or not. I'm just trying to have fun.

"I know how hard it is to be where I am now and how much work is necessary in order to remain on this level.

"I know nothing about the hill in PyeongChang, I have never been there before. I think it will be a new and very good experience."

Sportsbeat 2017