The German ski jumpers presented themselves in good shape before the competition weekend in Rasnov. In the absence of numerous top athletes, Andreas Wellinger in particular confirmed his recent strong performances.
In preparation for the upcoming Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica (February 21 to March 5), only 47 athletes from 15 nations had registered for the World Cup in Rasnov, Romania. A qualification for the individual competition on Saturday was therefore not necessary. Instead, a so-called prologue was held on Friday (02/17/2023) as preparation. With the overall World Cup leader Halvor Egner Granerud from Norway, the Pole Dawid Kubacki and Anze Lanisek (Slovenia), the three top athletes of the winter were also missing.
Wellinger leads German trio at the top
In their absence, the German athletes took their chance and showed promising jumps. Andreas Wellinger, who shone last weekend in Lake Placid with his first World Cup victory in over five years and a podium place, again confirmed his good form and secured victory with 92 meters (126.3 points).
Second and third place were also in German hands: Markus Eisenbichler jumped another five meters further than Wellinger, but was awarded 0.4 points less due to the upwind. Philipp Raimund set 93.5 meters with a clean Telemark in the snow and came in third (123.6 points). Karl Geiger (93 meters) and Stephan Leyhe (91 meters) also made it into the top ten in sixth and eighth place. Constantin Schmid was twelfth with 91 meters in less favorable conditions.
Rasnov as World Cup dress rehearsal
In Rasnov there are two competitions for ski jumpers on the program. On Saturday, it will first be singles from 4.20 p.m. (live stream and ticker on sportschau.de) from the beam. The dress rehearsal in the super team follows one day later (4:10 p.m., live stream and ticker on sportschau.de). At the premiere of the new competition format this season, Wellinger and Geiger jumped to fourth place in Lake Placid.
Despite the absence of almost all top stars, national coach Stefan Horngacher made it a priority to travel to Romania with the best players. The small hill in Rasnov was “a very good preparation for the World Championships, which also starts on a small hill“, Horngacher explained beforehand. The first World Championship decision in Planica will be made on February 25 from the normal hill.