Since Saturday (December 28th) it’s that time again: The 73rd Four Hills Tournament began with the qualification in Oberstdorf. sport.de summarizes the most important information about the highlight of every ski jumping season.
The stages and mode of the Four Hills Tournament
The start in Oberstdorf (December 29th), the New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (January 1st), followed by the competition in Innsbruck (January 4th) and the finale on Epiphany Day in Bischofshofen (January 6th). The only “free” days for ski jumpers are December 30th and January 2nd.
The winner and therefore the winner of the Golden Eagle is the person who has collected the most points from all eight competition rounds. A single weak jump can ruin your chances of overall victory.
The Four Hills Tournament has a special format: in the first round there are 25 knockout duels. Only the winners and the five losers with the highest points qualify for the second round. Who meets in the duels is decided in the qualification: the winner meets the 50th in the qualification, the second meets the 49th and so on.
Before the tour, the chances of the first German tour victory in over 20 years (the last time a DSV Adler won with Sven Hannawald in 2001/02) are once again not bad. Pius Paschke is the overall leader in the World Cup and has already won five competitions this winter.
The favorites to win the Four Hills Tournament
Behind Paschke, the DSV team looks much thinner. Karl Geiger and Andreas Wellinger have so far lacked the necessary consistency despite Wellinger’s World Cup victory. The hopes and pressure are therefore on Oldie Paschke.
The main competition for the German probably comes from neighboring Austria. This winter, either a German (6 times) or an Austrian (4 times) won when there was a World Cup competition.
At the dress rehearsal for the tour in Engelberg, Daniel Tschofenig and Jan Hörl were at the top of the podium – a boost for the Austrian ski jumping team. Then there is the long-running favorite Stefan Kraft, who secured the last overall victory for the Austrians, who are used to success, ten years ago.
The Swiss Gregor Deschwanden is considered a candidate for an outsider victory. Deschwanden came close several times, but has not yet been able to win any World Cup competitions.
Four Hills Tournament on television and stream
The entire tour can be followed on free TV: ZDF will be there live at the start in Oberstdorf and the finale in Bischofshofen, and ARD will show the competitions from Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck. Eurosport will also broadcast all four competitions plus qualifications.
There will be no women’s Four Hills Tournament this winter either. After all, there is another “half” tour with a jumping event on December 31st in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and one on New Year’s Day in Oberstdorf.