Oberstdorf (dpa) – A catch-up race looks different: ski jumper Karl Geiger only took ninth place in the home ski flying in Oberstdorf and did not take a decisive step forward in the tight race for victory in the overall World Cup.
“It’s a shame, I’m a bit disappointed,” said Geiger on ZDF. Because the leading Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi landed one place behind the Allgäu, Geiger’s chances of the first overall World Cup victory by a German since Severin Freund seven years ago are still intact. The 29-year-old even caught up three points and is now 55 points behind Kobayashi with three remaining individual competitions.
“The points today, that doesn’t matter,” Geiger classified the competition. “If I still want to have a say, then I already know that I have to jump onto the podium. That’s the claim.” The Austrian Stefan Kraft secured victory in the competition in front of a well-filled ranks on Saturday ahead of the two Slovenians Ziga Jelar and Timi Zajc.
violinist not satisfied
After his first attempt at 211.5 meters, Geiger waved off with both hands. “It wasn’t quite the best,” said national coach Stefan Horngacher. Geiger went into the second round in eighth place and was five places ahead of his biggest competitor. “He’s ahead of the Kobayashi, that’s the most important thing,” said Horngacher. Since Geiger stayed close to 215 meters there even after the second flight, Horngacher was not completely dissatisfied.
Second best German behind Geiger was Markus Eisenbichler in 14th place. After initially landing at only 200.5 meters, the passionate aviator was annoyed. His second set of 211.5 meters made the emotional man from Siegsdorf wave at the cheering audience with at least a halfway satisfied expression on his face.
“Step by step,” he said. The next competition is scheduled for this Sunday (4 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport). “Now I’m looking forward to tomorrow again,” said Eisenbichler. Severin Freund in 17th and Andreas Wellinger in 20th also scored World Cup points.
Huber causes a moment of shock
The Austrian Daniel Huber caused a moment of shock when he fell on landing and then put his hand in his face. The 29-year-old was able to leave the run independently. “I’m glad nothing happened to him,” said Eisenbichler.
Before the competition, former world-class jumper Richard Freitag announced the end of his career. “In the last few weeks it has become clear to me that I can no longer achieve my personal goals, despite my great commitment,” said the 30-year-old. Freitag celebrated eight World Cup victories in his career, won seven medals at the Ski Jumping and Ski Flying World Championships and won a silver medal with the team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Recently, however, things didn’t work out anymore, the Saxon didn’t make it into the World Cup team of the German Ski Association.