Ryoyu Kobayashi has taken second place in all three competitions so far. After two long flights in Innsbruck, he took over the overall ranking of the tour.
Photo: AFP/Georg Hochmuth
The announcement from ski jumping national coach Stefan Horngacher before jumping on the “Schicksalsberg” was brutal: “We are not afraid of the Bergisel. We will slaughter it – whatever happens, happens.« In recent years, many German Four Hills Tournament dreams have been shattered here in Innsbruck. Andreas Wellinger’s claim to Germany’s first overall victory in 22 years, however, lives on.
In the bright sunshine on Wednesday afternoon, the best German ski jumper missed the podium in fifth place in the third competition of the 72nd Four Hills Tournament. The double Olympic champion also lost his half-time lead at the annual Grand Slam, but will go into the grand finale on Saturday in Bischofshofen as a promising second overall. He is only 4.8 points behind leader Ryoyu Kobayashi (Japan) in the fight for 100,000 Swiss francs – the equivalent of 2.67 meters.
»A good two and a half meters is nothing on this big ski jump in Bischofshofen. I really like them and will give it my all,” explained Wellinger after his nerve-racking performance in front of 20,000 fans in the cauldron in Innsbruck. After his opening victory in Oberstdorf and third place in the New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the 28-year-old failed to make it onto the podium for the first time on this tour. Nevertheless, head coach Stefan Horngacher was satisfied: “Andi jumped really well under this nervous strain. The distance isn’t too big.”
Everyone in the German camp was satisfied that Wellinger had survived the most difficult test of this tour relatively unscathed. After all, German pilots in Innsbruck have experienced many dramas in recent years, which is why Bergisel is often referred to as the German mountain of fate. Martin Schmitt, the last German day winner Richard Freitag (2015) and Severin Freund lost all chances of overall victory after crashes.
That’s why Andreas Wellinger only wanted one thing after a botched qualification before this preliminary competition: »I hope that the wind conditions are fairly fair. Otherwise, it’s a lottery – you can take the dice and either you’re lucky or you’re not.” Of course, the wind was blowing that Wednesday too – but Wellinger’s luck was initially on his side. In the first round he sailed to a strong 132 meters in an upwind. “The jump wasn’t perfect, but Andi saved it really well,” praised Horngacher. Kobayashi then narrowly took the lead over Wellinger in the overall standings for the first time.
The German only managed 126.5 meters in the second round with a worse tailwind and initially waved off in disappointment. Kobayashi then sailed to 132 meters. But even that was only enough for second place in the daily ranking behind the celebrated local daily winner Jan Hörl. He is now the new third overall on the tour, but is already hopelessly behind, 23.6 points behind Kobayashi.
So everything speaks for a final duel between Wellinger and Kobayashi. The Japanese has the psychological plus that he has already won the tour twice in 2019 and 2022. Karl Geiger, who started the tour as one of the favorites, is out of shape. The man who had won two World Cups in December fell to 26th place in Innsbruck. Things got even worse for Pius Paschke, who won the tour dress rehearsal and even missed the jump into the second round in 36th place. This means that of the three jumpers chosen as favorites by the German team, only Andreas Wellinger remains. But he feels very comfortable in his new role as a hunter and continues to believe in the great triumph: “I love Bischofshofen.”
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