Berlin – Karl Geiger has preserved his chances of the first German overall victory in the Four Hills Tournament since Sven Hannawald. The 28-year-old local hero jumped 131.5 and 131 meters at the start of the 70th tour in Oberstdorf in heavy rain on Wednesday, finishing fifth. The victory went to the Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi ahead of the Norwegian Halvor Egner Granerud and his compatriot Robert Johansson. Geiger’s deficit in the tour rating on Kobayashi is only a good three meters.
“He jumped very well,” said national coach Stefan Horngacher. “I am very happy with him. He did a great job. He’s not far with the points. ”The fact that Geiger ended a series didn’t bother the coach particularly given the close result. Since the 2017/18 season there has always been a DSV eagle on the podium at the start of the tour. “At first I was a bit disappointed because I noticed upstairs that the others had come a long way,” said Geiger. “I didn’t quite have the fine blade in the second (run). But it was okay. “
A winter wonderland with snowflakes and white slopes was denied to the athletes at the start of the anniversary tour. In front of empty stands and in uncomfortable weather, Kobayashi, Geiger & Co. still offered the fans a spectacular jumping show in front of the screens, which could be carried out quickly and without problems. The nervous violinist has been consistently strong throughout the season and not very susceptible to negative external influences. He was already on the podium five times this season after an individual competition, twice even at the top.
The jumping facility on the Schattenberg is something very special for Geiger, not only because of his sense of home and the fact that his wife and many acquaintances are there to help out during the jumps. Last year he won the start of the tour here. At the world championships in February and March Geiger won four medals, two of them gold. The thoughts of such moments still help him today, “simply because there are really beautiful emotions, totally beautiful images that you still have in your head”.
Unlike Geiger, his friend Eisenbichler can only call up his best performance this winter very sporadically. A fall at the Summer Grand Prix threw the emotional Siegsdorf driver off his feet. Again and again you see Eisenbichler quarreling and cursing after his jumps this season. At the start of the tour he had little reason to do so. “Yeah,” shouted Eisenbichler after his second jump to 132.5 meters and waved his fist cheerfully. Seventh place was a decent result in the end. Stephan Leyhe finished ninth, Pius Paschke jumped to 26th place.
It was bitter for Severin Freund. The 33-year-old was actually doing well in the competition with a jump of 124.5 meters and would have scored his first World Cup points this winter. However, he was disqualified because of a non-compliant suit. “I actually thought it would fit,” he said of the strictly controlled garment on ARD. “Does not have it. It’s a sport that is sometimes about little things. It is controlled, and that is a good thing. You have to accept that and do better next time. ”
Constantin Schmid was eliminated after the first round. There the tour ambitions of a fellow favorite got a clear damper: the Polish previous year’s tour winner Kamil Stoch surprisingly retired after a jump after a jump of only 118 meters. Olympic champion Andreas Wellinger completely missed the jumper after finishing 51st in the qualification. Wellinger, Stoch and their colleagues have the next chance to do better on New Year’s Eve. Then it continues with the qualification for the traditional New Year’s jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.