The Norwegian defeated the German duo of Eric Frenzel and Vinzenz Geiger by one thousandths of a second, winning in 27min 16.1sec in a thrilling finale to the 10-kilometre cross-country race.

A photo finish was also required to determine the other two medals, with Frenzel edging Geiger into second spot.

The jumping round saw Japan’s Ryota Yamamoto return to pole position after he occupied the spot together with teammate Hideaki Nagai in yesterday’s team sprint.

Yamamoto registered a distance of 103.5 metres to take the lead with 131.5 points.

It also gave him a two-second advantage over Frenchman Laurent Muhlethaler, who jumped 100.5m, while Riiber was a second further back.

Heading into the cross-country race, the field was packed closely together, with a leading group of 20 athletes.

Ilkka Herola of Finland tried to establish a lead only to be caught as the race came down to a sprint finish.

Riiber put himself into a promising position on the downhill as he overtook leader Fabian Rießle of Germany before using his speed to pick the best lane.

Behind him, Geiger and Frenzel shot forward to claim the other two lanes.

The trio then battled it out for top spot, with Riiber crowned champion once again after winning on Friday (January 15).

In the end the top 18 athletes finished within 6.4 seconds of each other.

It was Riiber’s fifth World Cup victory of the season as he strengthened his position in the overall standings.

Riiber sits top on 560 points ahead of Gieger on 371 and Frenzel on 323.

The next FIS Nordic Combined World Cup stage is due to be held in Lahti in Finland from January 23 to 24.