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Steamboat Springs — Bill Demong looked like a champion Saturday night.

The veteran Nordic combined skier made it look easy as he cruised around the 7.5 kilometer cross country course en route to his second national title of the day in the Nordic combined sprint race.

The former Steamboat Springs resident, who still considers this valley home, crossed the finish line 2 minutes, 39.1 seconds in front of second-place finisher Johnny Spillane.

"I would say you have to expect the best and be prepared for the worst," Demong said. "I would say this is how I had hoped this year would go. This is the best possible scenario."

The scenario, which already included a World Cup victory in Lahti, Finland and a World Championship silver in Sapporo, Japan, got even better.

Demong won the national large hill title (K114) in the morning and then raced to the national Nordic combined title in the afternoon. The effort doubled the number of national titles the skier has won during his eight years with the U.S. Team.

Thanks to a strong performance on the jump hill, Demong started the Nordic combined race 38 seconds in front of teammates Brett Camerota and Johnny Spillane. Davis Miller was in fourth, but more than a minute off the pace and just in front of Eric Camerota and Skyler Keate.

Demong was never really threatened in the race, as Brett Camerota and Spillane battled for second. Spillane, who will undergo shoulder surgery on Monday, played it safe for most of the race hanging with Camerota until making his move in the final lap.

"This is the first time I've put on cross-country skis in two weeks," Spillane said. "I've just been relaxing and trying to keep my shoulder from hurting too much. It doesn't feel that good to ski right now."

Spillane said he didn't know what to expect in Saturday's race, and wasn't sure that he could finish.

"I just wanted to feel it out and depending on how it felt base my race plan on that," Spillane said. "I knew I wasn't going to catch Bill, nobody was. He's skiing great right now."

Spillane said despite finishing on the podium twice Saturday, it has been a frustrating year. He struggled to find his stride on the jump hill and shoulder problems have kept him from reaching the level he obtained in 2003 when he won the World Championship sprint event.

The athletes will return to Howelsen bright an early this morning to compete in the final event of this year's national championships. The normal hill (K-90) championship is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. today and will be the final event.