Before the third competition of the Four Hills Tournament, national coach Stefan Horngacher drew a surprisingly positive interim balance. His jumpers are more cautious.
“Best prospects” is emblazoned in large white letters on a banner behind the German ski jumpers. Karl Geiger and Andreas Wellinger joke, national coach Stefan Horngacher chats about the neighboring bobsleigh track before the start of the press conference – the atmosphere is relaxed, almost relaxed. “I’m very satisfied”Horngacher then sums up the first two competitions of the Four Hills Tournament from the perspective of the German team.
The prospects are not even as good as the banner in the background promises. With Geiger and Wellinger in fifth and sixth place, two DSV-Adlers are in the top ten of the overall standings – but neither will have anything to do with victory. “It was clear from the start that we wouldn’t necessarily be competing for victory here”, says Horngacher. Not necessarily. And yet, the national coach draws a positive picture, raves about his jumpers, even those who are not doing so well.
Impulse control in the German team
With Constantin Schmid – currently in 23rd place – he is “very satisfied”. Schmid himself has only rarely worked in the past few days “very satisfied”, struggled with a lack of consistency, difficult conditions and even angrily threw the bag with his ski boots into a corner in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. On the other hand, more impulse control with the otherwise so emotional Markus Eisenbichler, who had prescribed that impulse control for himself before this season and now meanders between stoic composure and purposeful optimism.
“He’s actually not far away”says Horngacher about the man from Siegsdorf, who didn’t make it into the second round in either Oberstdorf or Garmisch-Partenkirchen: “He just needs time and rest. And then things can go incredibly fast for him.” For Eisenbichler, the goal is anyway the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica at the end of February. He is currently 37th in the overall tour standings.
humility and hope
Right at the front – where the German team is currently not, the air is very thin anyway, emphasizes Horngacher. “But for everyone, not just for us. And we are part of the extended circle of hunters and that is very, very positive.”, says the national coach. After all, with Geiger and Wellinger there would be two DSV eagles, “who are allowed to hunt the others”. That almost sounds humbling, as if the German team couldn’t really attack the self-image of the tour.
Karl Geiger also chooses his words carefully and hopes that “sometimes one slips out”. A jump with which he can pose a threat to Granerud, second-placed Dawid Kubacki or his Polish compatriot Piotr Żyła in third place: “That you can smack them in the face and say: ‘You still have to count on us.'” Really convinced that it will actually work, but Geiger doesn’t seem to either.
work out lightness?
The lightness, the self-image, everything that is so important in ski jumping is currently missing for many in the German team. Andreas Wellinger also knows this, but he believes: “With the necessary patience, we will also work out the ease.” A formulation that sounds almost contradictory – but in Wellinger’s case it worked out in the end. After a serious injury and the hard way back, he fought back with a lot of patience and regained his lightness and a certain coolness. This is also why Wellinger falls out of the rather mixed German half-time record at the Four Hills Tournament – in the best sense.
Just like Philipp Raimund. The youngster in the team – unimpressed, enjoying the atmosphere in his first World Cup competitions, signing autographs and playing with the camera. The national coach is also known as “Hille”, as his teammates call him “very, very satisfied”. With a look at the 22-year-old, however, this is far less surprising than with the entire team. “One cannot speak of a negative balance, but of a positive one”, says Horngacher firmly. Perhaps there will still be “best prospects” after all.