Markus Eisenbichler’s emotional New Year’s jump also had a noticeable effect on the following day of travel.
“I still have a little dark circles under the eyes,” Eisenbichler aptly described himself. “I haven’t slept much.” In his furious second place at the start of 2022, the 30-year-old offered an impressive air show.
Eisenbichler could not hide the fact that the second act of the Four Hills Tournament was also a big disappointment for the German ski jumping team. Despite the best conditions, the longed-for first touring title in 20 years is as far away as it has been in a long time.
The greatest hope, Karl Geiger, fell far behind with his seventh place and can tick off the overall ranking according to his own assessment. “For me, if everything goes normally, it is no longer possible,” said the completely frustrated Oberstdorfer. “It sucks that it happened again on the tour.”
Geiger already far back
Geiger had traveled to the hill spectacle as the overall World Cup leader and in the form of his previous sporting life. His deficit on the outstanding tour leader Ryoyu Kobayashi, who won on Saturday just eleven centimeters ahead of Eisenbichler, is almost 18 meters before the third competition in Innsbruck on Tuesday (1:30 p.m.).
Eisenbichler replaced Geiger in Garmisch-Partenkirchen as the best DSV eagle in the tour evaluation. As fourth with almost twelve meters distance to Kobayashi, he is not really close either. The half-time gap between the best German and the leader in the overall tour standings was greater in the 2014/15 season.
Giving up does not count
Even before the competition at the notorious Bergisel in Innsbruck on Tuesday, where the touring dreams of German jumpers often ended in the past, only a kind of ski jumping miracle seems to be able to help – even if national coach Stefan Horngacher spreads optimism.
“We’re not going to throw the gun in the grain and say it all sucks. In principle, it’s still good,” said the 52-year-old Austrian before leaving for his home country with the team. “We are in half-time. We are very good and we will give everything that we may still be at the top in Bischofshofen.” Horngacher’s hope: “The Four Hills Tournament has its own laws. You always have to stick with it and stay on it if someone else makes a mistake.” “A lot of bizarre things have happened”.
Horngacher ennobles Kobayashi
However, it seems very unlikely that Kobayashi of all people will fail. The overall tour winner of 2018/19 jumps exceptionally stable, did not let himself be disturbed by a positive Corona test this winter and won the yellow jersey of Geiger’s World Cup leader on New Year’s Day – although he had missed two individual competitions.
The 25-year-old jump “extremely well and iron everything down,” said Horngacher. In his opinion, Geiger and Eisenbichler are among the few jumpers who can beat the taciturn Japanese during the days of the tour.
Eisenbichler doesn’t look at the overall standings
How to defeat Kobayashi on Bergisel, Eisenbichler showed at the world championship almost three years ago. The Siegsdorf won ahead of Geiger. Kobayashi finished fourth. After Geiger’s setback, “Eisei” took over the leading role in the German team. However, he refrains from declaring war.
Eisenbichler’s verbal handling of the goal of a golden eagle for the overall tour victory has changed noticeably in the past few weeks. While Eisenbichler had spoken offensively about the hoped-for triumph for a German jumper before the tour dress rehearsal in Engelberg, Switzerland, he now shows demonstrative disinterest in the overall standings. “I have now also found out for the first time that I am fourth. Thanks for that,” he said at a press conference of the German Ski Association (DSV) on Sunday. The classification is “extremely irrelevant” to him.
In any case, buddy Geiger keeps his fingers crossed for him. “I hope that he still annoys him and that we can still get the thing,” said the family man with reference to Eisenbichler as a Kobayashi pursuer. The next hints on how promising this mission could be will be available this Monday (1:30 p.m. / ZDF and Eurosport). Then the qualification takes place in Innsbruck.
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