At the overture of the Four Hills Tournament, the German hopeful impressed in sixth place – but five Austria Eagles are in the lead.
Pius Paschke blew deeply and raised his fist into the Oberstdorf sky to the cheers of the world record crowd. The great German hope got off to a good start in the 73rd Four Hills Tournament and, after placing sixth in the first qualification, seems prepared for the hunt for the gold eagle.
After a big qualifying party by the incredibly strong Austrians, Paschke is not going into Sunday’s competition as the top favorite – five Austria Eagles were ahead on Saturday.
“I had a hard time getting into it here in training, but then I implemented it well, that was cool. I’m absolutely satisfied and totally fit,” said Paschke. Before the first competition on Sunday (4:30 p.m. in the live ticker on sport.de), the 34-year-old is back on track.
“That was absolutely important for Pius”
Because the series winner in the first weeks of the season weakened at the dress rehearsal in Engelberg, national coach Stefan Horngacher was also noticeably relieved: “That was absolutely important for Pius. He was a little tense, now he knows it’s possible.”
In front of 16,500 fans at Schattenberg – more than ever before at a qualification – World Cup leader Paschke jumped to 139.0 m (154.9 points). Good, but not (yet) as outstanding as his five wins this season in the first eight competitions. Good, but also good enough to take on the brutally dominant Austrians? There is a big question mark behind it.
“We were strong last year, but that cannot be put into words. Unbelievable,” said Daniel Tschofenig, who won the preliminary round ahead of four compatriots. The 22-year-old won with 141.5 m (167.5 points) ahead of Stefan Kraft (164.8), the last tour winner from Austria in 2015, and Michael Hayböck (162.3). Jan Hörl and Maximilian Ortner also finished ahead of Paschke.
Last year’s winner Wellinger has room for improvement
Behind Paschke, the other DSV Adler showed some willingness to attack.
Oberstdorf local hero Karl Geiger, who won on his home hill four years ago, impressed with ninth place. “I’m realistic, for me a top 10 result is very good at the moment,” said Geiger.
Last year’s winner Andreas Wellinger still had some room for improvement in 13th place. “There are little things that are missing. I’m confident and relaxed,” said the two-time Olympic champion.
Stephan Leyhe (33rd) and Philipp Raimund (39th), who had prevailed against former world champion Markus Eisenbichler in the fight for the remaining starting places in the German team, qualified poorly. Youngster Adrian Tittel (45th) will also be there on Sunday.
Paschke should not only be there, but right in the middle and at best at the front. The veteran had rushed from victory to victory in the first weeks of the season and had never started better than any DSV Adler in a World Cup season. But just before the tour there was a slight kink: Paschke had a cold, and at the dress rehearsal in Engelberg he only managed tenth and 18th place.
“Everything is fine again,” assured Paschke on Friday – but now others are making a better impression. Now it’s time for Paschke on Sunday to at least get out of a good starting position in order to keep all (win) options open for Garmisch-Partenkirchen (January 1st), Innsbruck (January 4th) and Bischofshofen (6th).
The knockout duels with German participation:
Pius Paschke (Kiefersfelden/6.) – Adrian Tittel (Aue/45.)
Karl Geiger (Oberstdorf/9.) – Pawel Wasek (Poland/42nd)
Andreas Wellinger (Ruhpolding/13.) – Aleksander Zniszczol (Poland/38th)
Stephan Leyhe (Willingen/33.) – Benjamin Östvold (Norway/18.)
Philipp Raimund (Oberstdorf/39.) – Vladimir Sografski (Bulgaria/12.