The men’s ski jumping World Cup starts in Ruka. Here you can find the most important questions and answers.
What does the program look like?
The World Cup will be held in 19 locations in nine countries on three continents. It starts at the weekend in Ruka/Finland, the last competition takes place on March 24th at the Planica flying hill. The furthest trips lead to Lake Placid/USA (February 10th/11th) and Sapporo/Japan (February 17th/18th). It’s a season without a major championship – apart from the Ski Flying World Championships at the end of January in Bad Mitterndorf, Austria. The next Nordic World Ski Championships will not take place in Trondheim until 2025, and the Olympics will not take place again until 2026.
Is there also jumping in Germany?
After Klingenthal (December 9th/10th), the highlight is the Four Hills Tournament with the German stops in Oberstdorf (December 29th) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (January 1st). After Willingen (February 3rd/4th) we go back to Oberstdorf to the flying hill (February 24th/25th).
Who starts for the German team?
Former ski flying world champion Karl Geiger remains the “captain” of national coach Stefan Horngacher’s team, and a lot can also be expected from two-time Olympic champion Andreas Wellinger. However, six-time world champion Markus Eisenbichler and team Olympic bronze medalist Constantin Schmid did not make it into the team – both lack form. Instead, Horngacher opted for last year’s discovery Philipp Raimund, the veterans Stephan Leyhe and Pius Paschke and the German surprise champion Martin Hamann, at least for the first two stations.
What can the DSV eagles be capable of?
After a rather disappointing 2022/23 season, the German jumpers are not going into the new winter as big favorites. The first tour victory since Sven Hannawald in 2001/02 would – as of now – be just as surprising as the first overall World Cup success since Severin Freund in 2014/15.
Who are the favorites?
Norway’s Halvor Egner Granerud, the clear number one in the World Cup and tour winner last year, the Poles Kamil Stoch and Dawid Kubacki, the Austrian Stefan Kraft and the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi are considered favorites. You also have to pay attention to Wladimir Sografski, the Bulgarian one-man national team: The 30-year-old, who has only been in the top 10 three times since his World Cup debut in 2010, was the outstanding man at the Summer Grand Prix.
Who is no longer there?
Only a few well-known jumpers ended their careers. The most prominent ski jump retirees: Norway’s former ski flying world record holder Anders Fannemel and the former German champion David Siegel, who only briefly fulfilled his great potential due to injury. The Swiss double-double Olympic champion Simon Ammann (42) continues. And Noriaki Kasai (51) is also staying – according to recent impressions, making the Japanese World Cup team is not out of the question, even if he is initially missing from Kuusamo.
What’s new?
Each country is only allowed to field five jumpers; a team can earn a sixth starting place via the second-class Continental Cup. Otherwise, the ski bindings have been made safer through new rules, and the wedges under the shoes have also been regulated. As in other disciplines, wax containing fluorine has been banned. New to the World Cup program is a mini tour in Poland with three stops; for the first time since the 2019/20 season there is no mixed team.