Kuusamo, Finland – Steamboat Springs, Colo.’s Bryan Fletcher led the U.S. Ski Team, finishing 18th Friday in the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Kuusamo as Norwegian Magus Krog picked up his first World Cup win.

Fletcher jumped to 11th but dropped back seven spots in cross country. Olympic champion Billy Demong, of Vermontville, N.Y., moved up nine spots from 29th in the jump to take 20th overall.

It was a solid day for Bryan. He had a good comp jump but started a little too fast in the race and lost some places on the last lap. Overall a solid start to the season for him,” said U.S. Ski Team Nordic Combined Head Coach, Dave Jarrett.  “Taylor [Fletcher] was really good on the cross country course and didn’t jump too badly technically. It was a very mentally challenging day on the hill. It was very windy and you had to really be tough upstairs.”