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Steamboat Springs — Bill Demong's all about the chase.

As a world champion and one of the favorites to medal at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C., Demong admitted Saturday after the 2-kilometer skate ski race down Lincoln Avenue - the second portion of the Nordic Combined event during the Rocky Mountain Ski Jumping Extravaganza - that he prefers to come from behind.

"That's better for me," Demong said. "If I would have started first it would have been hard. That way you have something to go for."

Demong made the three laps up and down Lincoln Avenue in 6 minutes, 19 seconds to finish first. Todd Lodwick finished second in 6:20, Brett Camerota finished third in 6:21, Johnny Spillane finished fourth in 6:22 and Eric Camerota finished fifth in 6:23.

Demong, who started 13 seconds behind Brett Camerota in the Gunderson format, had caught up to the lead group by the second lap. In a Gunderson format, racers start the ski race according to where they finished in the jumps.

On the final lap, with Spillane in the lead, Demong made his move just before the final turn. Lodwick was right on his heels, but Demong was able to jockey for position and come away with the win.

"Having it be a Gunderson (Saturday) some people couldn't catch up," Demong said. "But when you're doing intervals, it pushes everyone's level."

In the second part of the day's festivities, the target jump, local Bryan Fletcher outlasted all other skiers to get the win.

Pat Arnone won the Gelande portion with a jump of 67 meters.

The target jump opened with a qualifying round where jumpers tried to hit a specific distance. After the qualifying round, the field was pared down to 24, 12 and six before Fletcher came away with the win.

In the round of six, with the target set at 75 meters, Willy Graves set the mark at 71 meters. Graves watched four skiers go and not match him before Fletcher took to the hill.

"The tough part of target jumping is, obviously, the wind as you saw (Saturday)," Fletcher said. "You also want to pick a gate so you can jump far enough."

After seeing Spillane fall right before him but judge the distance right, Fletcher felt he found the gate to battle a tail wind at the bottom of the course.

He jumped to 72.5 meters to take home the win.

"It was a complete advantage going last," Fletcher said. "I got to see all the other guys and what gate they go from and how far they go. You gauge it off of that, and then you can pick the gate."

Although each competition had a winner, all were in agreement that the festivities also helped grow interest in the sport of Nordic combined.

Saturday's skate ski race was a perfect example.

The top five finishers - all U.S. Ski Team members - finished within five seconds of one another. Going into the final corner, world champions Demong, Spillane and Lodwick all battled like it was mid-November.

"It's a really special day for us," Demong said. "Obviously, it's Independence Day, but for Nordic combined, it's the best ability for us to showcase our sport in the United States. You get to watch a fast and exciting roller ski race, and a lot of people show up at the jumps to watch this. I think it's a great day for the Nordic program."