Stefan Kraft showed his best nerves in a difficult competition at Holmenkollen in Oslo. The wind made things tough on Saturday (March 9th, 2024), the German jumpers couldn’t cope with it and all missed out on a top 15 place.
From the beginning the wind played the main role. In the first competition of the “Raw Air Tour”, the ski jumpers had to show a lot of patience; the test round had to be stopped after twelve jumpers. At the beginning of the competition things looked much better, but the conditions suddenly changed again.
The jury didn’t have it easy, they looked for every little windbreaker, but the jumpers still had to get down from the beam again and again. Despite the compensation points, the performances were ultimately difficult to compare because the conditions varied too much from athlete to athlete.
Paschke missed out on making it into the top 10
World Cup leader Stefan Kraft was the most consistent and had to abandon his attempt in the first round. With jumps of 132 and 133 meters, the Austrian clearly beat Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal from Norway (127.5 and 131 meters) and his compatriot Jan Hörl (127.5 and 129.5 meters).
The best German jumper was Pius Paschke, who came 14th after jumping twice over 127 meters. Andreas Wellinger, who was in 16th place after his first jump of 126 meters, fell four positions back in the second round with 124.5 meters. With Constantin Schmid, only one other DSV eagle made it to the final, he came 28th (118.5 and 110 meters).
Geiger misses a possible final again
Karl Geiger was once again unable to fly in Oslo. After his 113.5 meters in the first round, he shook his head, the corners of his mouth pointing downwards once again. “The jump was really crap, too late and unrhythmic. The idea I had would have been the right one, but it’s just tedious right now.”was his conclusion in the Sportschau interview.
Despite the current difficult situation, he has not lost his motivation. He’s just waiting for him “Knot unraveler. You have to stay patient, even if it’s tedious just to get the lid on.” For Geiger, it was the fifth time in the last ten competitions that he did not make it into the top 30.
Raimund’s bad luck is Schmid’s good luck
Philipp Raimund was also a victim of the conditions. Like numerous other jumpers who were at the end of the field, including World Cup runner-up Ryoyu Kobayashi, he was blown away by the wind and only managed 111 meters. Appropriately served, he left.
His bad luck was the luck of Schmid, who was the first German jumper to go off the beam. “It’s quite changeable and difficult to assess. Away from the table, it was my best jump here, out in the flight I still have some reserves. I have to hope that I can do another one.”, he estimated his 118.5 meters shortly afterwards. Thanks to Raimund, 30th place was ultimately enough, but Schmid couldn’t do better in the second round. Nevertheless, he was still able to make up two places.
What is the Raw Air Tour?
This tour has existed since the 2016/17 season and shortly before the season finale in Planica, the athletes determine their best at three different sized facilities (Oslo, Trondheim and Vikersund). The ski jumpers have to complete 16 jumps in ten days and in addition to the evaluation rounds, the qualifications are also taken into account. In addition to World Cup points, the winner will receive 40,000 euros at the end. Last year Halvor Egner Granerud won the tour series.
| Start time | Competition men | Competition women | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
08.03. | Individual men, qualification HS 134 | Individual women, qualification HS 134 | Oslo |
09.03. | Individual men HS 134 | 4.45 p.m.: Women’s singles HS 134 | Oslo |
10.03., | 11.30 a.m.: Men’s Individual, Qualification HS 134 2.20 p.m.: Individual men HS 134 | 1 p.m.: Individual women, qualification HS 134 5 p.m.: Individual women HS 134 | Oslo |
12.03., | 4 p.m.: Individual men HS 105 | 11 a.m.: Individual women, qualification HS 105 6 p.m.: Individual women HS 105 | Trondheim |
13.03. | 4 p.m.: Individual men HS 138 | 11 a.m.: Individual women, qualification HS 138 6:00 p.m.: Women’s Individual HS 138 | Trondheim |
03/15 | 4.30 p.m.: Individual men’s qualification HS 240 | Vikersund | |
16.03. | 4 p.m.: Individual men HS 240 | 10 a.m.: Individual women’s HS 240 | Vikersund |
March 17th | 3.30 p.m.: Individual men HS 240 | 10 a.m.: Individual women’s HS 240 | Vikersund |