The German ski jumpers continue to struggle with mixed results on the “Raw Air” tour. Not a single DSV eagle made it into the top ten on the large hill in Trondheim on Wednesday (March 13, 2024). Andreas Wellinger in particular had to fall far back in the field for Stefan Kraft’s next victory.
The Olympic champion had a day to forget. After his glimmer of hope with fourth place the day before, Wellinger only made it into the second round with a bang and was only able to improve slightly there. In the end he achieved a disappointing 28th place. “I didn’t adjust well to the jump. That’s why it’s over quickly,” explained the 28-year-old on ZDF. Now it’s time to build up “the right feeling” for the upcoming ski flying.
The Austrians, who achieved an outstanding team result, could not be beaten. Led by Stefan Kraft, who took the day’s victory with jumps of 137.5 and 134 meters and also extended his lead in the “Raw-Air” series, the Austrians celebrated a quadruple victory. Behind Kraft, Daniel Tschofenig and Jan Hörl completed the podium, with Daniel Huber coming fourth.
To the results arrow right overall score Raw Air Tour, men arrow right
Paschke best German – Raimund unlucky
Pius Paschke once again showed a solid performance and became the best German after jumps of 124.5 and 130.5 meters. Directly behind him was Philipp Raimund, who had initially underlined his good form with 135.5 meters in the first round at the World Cup premiere on the large hill at Granåsen, where the World Championships will be held in 2025. At halftime he was in fifth place, just 3.4 points behind the podium. Kraft at the top was 10.2 points short. In the final, things looked really good until the landing, but then he lost his balance and had to accept a lot of points deductions.
Wellinger is shaking in the second round
At this point, Wellinger had already lost all chance of another good placement. Things didn’t really go well for the currently best German ski jumper in training, which continued in the competition. With just 119.5 meters, he narrowly avoided early elimination in 30th place. “We can’t be happy with that,” DSV sports director Horst Hüttel said clearly. In the final, Wellinger was able to improve significantly with 130 meters, but that could only slightly reduce the weak result.
Geiger reports back
This meant that Wellinger was well behind Karl Geiger in the final tally, who was finally able to smile again after recent disappointing results. Things were already promising for the Oberstdorfer in training, but in the competition he wasn’t completely satisfied with his 125 meters in the first round. Nevertheless, he had “a much better feeling” compared to the day before, when he missed the second round for the fourth time in a row.
Geiger also took his self-confidence with him into the final, where he flew powerfully in good conditions and brought another 140 meters into the valley. This meant he moved up to 16th place. “Such a jump is better than many a podium finish or victory,” said an “incredibly happy” violinist afterwards. “All the jumps today were good. I glided weightlessly. That’s how fun it is. Then you realize why you love the sport so much.”
Leyhe and Schmid only spectators in the final
For Stephan Leyhe and Constantin Schmid it was over after the first round. While Schmid didn’t really get flying again after his completely unsuccessful jump from the previous day and came 37th after an “annoying” 122 meters, things were even more disappointing at Leyhe. After a mistake in the inrun lane and little luck with the wind, he was pulled down at 110.5 meters, meaning he clearly missed the final. “It wasn’t really because of the conditions,” Leyhe said afterwards. “I just didn’t hit the take-off table. Then there was a lot of energy missing in the jump.”
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What is the Raw Air Tour?
This tour has existed since the 2016/17 season and shortly before the season finale in Planica, the athletes determine their best at three different sized facilities (Oslo, Trondheim and Vikersund). The ski jumpers have to complete 16 jumps in ten days and in addition to the evaluation rounds, the qualifications are also taken into account. In addition to World Cup points, the winner will receive 40,000 euros at the end. In 2023, Halvor Egner Granerud won the tour series.
Final where “Raw-Air” in Vikersund
The “Raw Air” series concludes with the competitions starting on Friday (March 15, 2024) in Vikersund. Only the 50 best qualify for ski flying. The number of athletes starting is then reduced to 40 for the first ski flying on Saturday; in the final decision on Sunday, only the best 30 from the previous day’s competition are eligible to start.
