Heavy wind and snow showers in Norway forced organisers to cancel the ski jumping round, meaning the pre-competition round scores were used.

While Austria’s Mario Seidl and Manuel Faißt of Germany led the way after producing the best jumps yesterday, Frenzel was well placed in third position.

The German’s jump of 132 metres, which was 6m shy of the lead, saw him begin the cross-country element of the event with a comfortable advantage over his compatriots Johannes Rydzek and Fabian Rießle.

Frenzel worked closely with Seidl and Faißt in the early stages of the 10 kilometre course, but got away from the pair as the finish approached.

The German claimed the victory in a time of 25min 10.9sec to assume the overall lead in the World Cup.

“A great day for me,” he said.

“It was not really easy today and I was quite happy that we took the pre-competition round in these conditions."

Despite recording the fastest cross-country time of the time by clocking 24:07.1, Rydzek ended the event 19.2sec after the winner in second.

The podium was completed by Rießle, who ensured an all-German top three by ending a further three seconds back.

Frenzel now leads the overall World Cup by 14 points from Rydzek, ahead of the final World Cup events this weekend in Schonach.

Competition is planned to take place on March 18 and 19, as the season draws to its conclusion.