The Nordic combined athletes Vinzenz Geiger, Eric Frenzel and Johannes Rydzek will not attend the World Championship dress rehearsal in Schonach this weekend.
The three team Olympic champions from 2018 will instead prepare for the title fights in Planica (February 21 to March 5) with reduced stress in Oberstdorf, the German Ski Association announced.
“We weren’t strong enough in jumping recently. That’s why we pulled the ripcord,” said national coach Hermann Weinbuch: “We took out the World Cup starters Eric Frenzel and Johannes Rydzek, they’re going to the training camp in Oberstdorf. Vinzenz Geiger will be after a further medical examination in Schonach also pause.” Geiger lives in Oberstdorf anyway.
The German team in the Black Forest is thus led by three-time winner of the season, Julian Schmid. The man from Oberstdorf still has chances of winning the overall World Cup, with 944 points he is currently in second place behind world champion Johannes Lamparter (Austria/1045).
Local hero Fabian Riessle, Jakob Lange and Terence Weber are still fighting for a World Cup ticket at the weekend. “They still have a small chance of being promoted to the World Championship team if one of them does well in Schonach, with two top 8 places or a place on the podium,” said Weinbuch.