KUUSAMO, Finland -- Hannu Manninen of Finland won the season's first World Cup Nordic combined on Friday, beating World Cup champion Ronny Ackermann of Germany by 3.4 seconds.

The top American was Johnny Spillane in 10th place. He tied Austria's Wilhelm Denifl for the longest ski jump and started the skiing in fourth place.

Spillane even led the race after 3.5 kilometers and was fourth after five kilometers before fading.

Ackermann was followed by four other Germans: Bjorn Kircheisen, Mathias Menz, Georg Hettich and Jens Gaiser.

Manninen, who captured last season's finale in Norway, made a strong showing in the 7.5-kilometer cross-country ski portion. Cold weather forced organizers to reschedule the event as a sprint.

Manninen started the ski race in 23rd place after a mediocre ski jump on the K120 hill. But he reached the top group after five kilometers and took the lead.

Manninen held off Ackermann after that, covering the race in 22 minutes, 21.5 seconds.

"I tried to gain on the leaders from the beginning, going fast while I had warm skis,'' Manninen said. "But even after that I went unbelievably fast, I could not imagine it.''

Triple Olympic champion Samppa Lajunen of Finland finished ninth after starting 20th, 1:33 off the pace.

Austrians dominated the ski jump, with Denifl winning with a 140.5-meter effort and Michael Gruber hitting 139.5 for second place. Gruber abandoned the skiing and Denifl fell to 25th.