The German eagles didn’t get the right height and distance during the team flight in Planica. They only saw the exciting battle at the front from far behind. The competition won by Austria was overshadowed by a few, sometimes violent, falls. The competition was canceled after the first round.
Austria won the ski flying team competition in Planica. On Saturday morning (March 24th, 2024) Daniel Tschofenig (225 meters), Michael Hayböck (215.5 m), Stefan Kraft (211 m) and Daniel Huber (244 m) prevailed ahead of Slovenia and Norway.
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The German quartet had nothing to do with the outcome of the competition and was in sixth place, more than 70 points behind. Karl Geiger, Stephan Leyhe, Pius Paschke and Andreas Wellinger couldn’t really get going; the rising wind prevented a possible attack in the second round. The DSV team lost second place in the national rankings to Slovenia.
National coach Horngacher: “We weren’t that good”
“Unfortunately there is no other option,” explained national coach Stefan Horngacher afterwards on ZDF. “The wind has increased extremely and is unpredictable. This is too dangerous.” He was not satisfied with his team’s performance: “We didn’t manage to implement the things we had planned today. Only Pius Paschke had a great jump.”
The fact that the jury decided to reject the event was a logical consequence given the three falls in the first round and the increasingly difficult conditions. “I’ll be happy if everyone goes out today without any injuries,” Horngacher said before the decision.
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Karl Geiger started from a German perspective, but only reached 202.5 meters. He had a bit of a tailwind at the take-off table, didn’t really get his system together and was almost 30 points behind the leading Austrians.
Italian Bresadola injured his knee
The second group started with two shocking moments. First Dean Decker from the USA fell while driving out, but quickly got back up. After that, things got much worse for Giovanni Bresadola. He got a lot of wind in the lower third, landed very high and couldn’t withstand the pressure on the slope. His knee gave way as he jumped up and the Italian hit the slope with full force. After a treatment break of several minutes, he was wheeled out of the stadium on a stretcher.
Despite decent conditions, Stephan Leyhe didn’t really get going. He continued to struggle with the new inrun lane on the Letalnica and didn’t get any real pressure on the edge. At 196.5 meters he lost more than 20 meters to the top. While the first five teams were within 16 points, Germany in sixth place was already 55 points behind.
Zajc falls over 240 meters
The Slovenian jumper Timi Zajc was in the third group. He got behind at 242.5 meters and fell. He limped out of the interior, supported by two helpers, to the cheers of the home fans. Immediately after him, Pius Paschke had to wait until everything was cleaned up. But he didn’t let himself be unsettled and sailed to 221 meters. But he couldn’t really make up any ground on the leaders.
Andreas Wellinger’s attack also failed to materialize. In the days of Planica he also didn’t yet find the right means for the jump. His 209.5 meters were solid, but nothing more. At halftime, the DSV team was still in sixth place with 77 points on Austria. The podium was 40 points away.
During the break between the rounds, the wind finally increased so much that the jury pushed the start time further and further back. At 11 a.m. the decision was made to cancel the final round.
Last jumping of the winter on Sunday
The Ski Jumping World Cup season ends on Sunday with the final individual event in Planica. Then it’s time for the final decision of the winter: Who will win the overall World Cup in ski flying? Stefan Kraft is currently in the lead with 376 points, but Peter Prevc (342) is still lurking behind him. The local hero won the first individual in the Tal der Schanzen on Friday and could end his career with another small crystal ball. After the season, the 31-year-old puts his skis away.
