Ski jumper Halvor Egner Granerud is about to win his first overall victory in the Four Hills Tournament. The Norwegian extended his lead in the overall standings after the first round in Bischofshofen. Philipp Raimund is currently the best German.
Granerud’s lead in the overall standings was a comfortable 23.3 points – almost 13 meters – over Dawid Kubacki even before the jumping event that ended the tour. And also on the Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze, the Norwegian delivered the best jump of 139.5 meters in the first round on Friday (06.01.2023) – and extended his lead in the overall classification to 28.2 points.
Granerud’s closest pursuer, Kubacki, is currently in third place with 135.5 meters. The Pole, who had become a father for the second time shortly before the tour finale, would need a medium-sized miracle in the second round to knock Granerud off the throne. Anze Lanisek (140.5 meters) from Slovenia is currently in second place.
Four DSV eagles in the second round
A quartet of the seven German jumpers made it into the second round. Philipp Raimund is currently the best with 13th place, Constantin Schmid is 17th, Andreas Wellinger is 20th.
Karl Geiger (22nd) also progressed as a “lucky loser” and can hope for a second good jump. Markus Eisenbichler, Pius Paschke and Stephan Leyhe, on the other hand, were eliminated.
Raimund strong as a bear – Geiger must tremble
Youngster Raimund once again showed a convincing performance. After a magnificent leap of 136 meters, the 22-year-old clenched his fists and placed himself in the top 15.
Geiger had to drill a tough board in the co-duel with Marius Lindvik. Even if the Norwegian jumped three meters further, Geiger was still able to move into the second round with 131.5 meters as a “lucky loser”. “I think the jump was worth a bit“, the Oberstdorfer was not dissatisfied in the ZDF interview.
Karl Geiger in Bischofshofen
Wellinger sovereign – Eisenbichler unlucky
Wellinger managed the same distance as his team-mate and mastered his task against the Japanese Naoki Nakamura. In qualifying the day before, the Olympic champion from Pyeongchang was still suffering from a gastrointestinal infection. “I’m feeling a little better. I have more feeling againsaid Wellinger.The jump was fine. Now I’m hoping for a good second.”
Eisenbichler, on the other hand, missed the final round. His jump on 130 meters was solid, but opponent Daniel Tschofenig from Austria pulled the tooth with the Siegsdorfer with a cleanly placed 132.5 meters. “First of all, I’m satisfied that I wasn’t too late when I jumped off“, according to Eisenbichler, for whom it “Step by step in the right direction” goes. “If I keep going like this, I’ll get in better and better shape.“
Schmid (133 meters) clearly won the German-German duel against Paschke (123.5 meters). On the other hand, Leyhe (123 meters) lost out to the Austrian Maximilian Ortner.
DSV-Adler beaten off in the overall standings
Granerud and Kubacki are the dominating jumpers of this tour. While Granerud laid the foundation for his possible first overall victory with the two wins at the start in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Kubacki was able to rekindle some excitement with his success in the third competition in Innsbruck.
The German jumpers have nothing to do with the fight for the golden eagle. After a promising start, Geiger and Co. lost every chance in Innsbruck. Geiger even dropped out in the qualification there and threw away all hopes of a good place in the overall standings. In this, Wellinger is currently the best German in eighth place. Raimund follows in 13th place.