Dhe relief was huge. “There was already steam on the boiler,” said Stefan Horngacher. The national coach didn’t just mean the great atmosphere on the Schattenberg, but also the pressure he and his ski jumpers felt before the start of the classic. But after the start of the Four Hills Tournament, it can be said that almost everything went well.
“The guys went one better today,” said Horngacher late in the evening. The previously packed arena with 25,000 spectators had long since emptied, and those who weren’t still partying outside in Oberstdorf on the street or in the Nordic Park had said goodbye to the Allgäu Valley of the Schanzen by car, bus and train.
“The first step has been taken”
Like Horngacher, they had all been happy about “casual jumps from Karl” in a thrilling competition. For Karl Geiger, the home jump was a precision landing. So far, the multiple world champion had failed to draw lasting attention to himself in the World Cup season. Last year it was he who, as the World Cup leader, had to carry the “burden of the rucksack”, as his coach described it.
This time it was the Pole Dawid Kubacki, who came to the tour in yellow – and had to give way to another: the Norwegian Halvor Egner Granerud. His jumps of 142.5 and 139 meters made it clear: The fight for the Golden Eagle, which will be decided on Epiphany with the final competition in Bischofshofen, is mainly about him and Kubacki.
But Geiger is lying in wait. With jumps of 136.5 and 134 meters he is fourth only 1.3 points behind Kubacki. That’s a touch of nothing and leaves him with every option to put pressure on the leading trio, into which Pole Piotr Zyla jumped in second. “Now the great tension level drops,” said Geiger. “The first step has been taken.” “If he keeps this up, he’ll be hard to beat. But there are still three stations. I know myself how it is on the tour: it has its own rules.”
One rule says: The ski jumping classic cannot be won in Oberstdorf. But you can lose a lot of ground under your feet. Just like Markus Eisenbichler. The emotional jumper, who has everything this winter, just no feeling for his jumps, was eliminated in the first round. For a moment it was to be feared that Geiger’s roommate would throw everything away.
“But I will appeal for his continued participation,” said Horngacher. “Markus can see it completely relaxed now, observe himself a bit and be there for the other guys. That’s also important.” It’s also true: the “other guys” didn’t do badly. Philipp Raimund (14th place), Stephan Leyhe (20) and Constantin Schmid (29) sniffed the final atmosphere on Schattenberg, with 22-year-old tour newcomer Raimund exceeding all expectations. The same goes for Andreas Wellinger: sixth place after two jumps of 135 and 132 meters.
Will the Germans still manage to become dangerous to Granerud? Geiger’s deficit is ten meters. “He’s just jumping on a different level,” says Geiger. “But he has to get through it first.” The tour is still long – and full of pitfalls.
