Vierschanzentournee: Austria Dominates in Innsbruck

Vierschanzentournee: Austria Dominates in Innsbruck

**Pius Paschke is 8th in the third jump of the Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck, making him the best from the DSV team. However, he must ultimately bury his hopes in the overall tournament ranking. The daily victory went to Stefan Kraft, an Austrian, following a thrilling final among three Austrian competitors.

The afternoon was particularly disappointing for Karl Geiger, who missed out on the finals among the top 30.**

The current World Cup overall runner-up, Paschke, faced a deficit of 27.5 points against the day’s winner after his jumps of 128.5 and 123.5 meters. In an exciting showdown, Kraft prevailed against his compatriots Jan Hörl and Daniel Tschofenig.

With jumps of 131.5 and 132 meters, Kraft pushed ahead of his fellow countrymen Hörl (134 and 132 meters) and Tschofenig (132.5 and 127.5 meters). After the first round, the three Austrians were separated by only a meager 0.9 points. Kraft finished 1.4 points ahead of Hörl, who led at halftime. The former overall leader of the tournament, Tschofenig, trailed by 10 points in third place.

Kraft Takes the Overall Lead - "Time for Egg Liqueur"
"Today is a very special day," Kraft expressed joyfully, celebrating his 60th World Cup victory and his first in Innsbruck. "This victory is a childhood dream. It’s unbelievable." When asked how he would celebrate the success, the three-time world champion replied: "Now, there’s lasagna, my favorite dish. My wife brought me egg liqueur yesterday. I will be serving egg liqueur to a large group. But then it will be a quiet evening. We will save the party mode for January 6."

With this win, Kraft also took over the overall tournament lead: With 887.1 points, he narrowly leads over the previous leader Tschofenig (886.5 points) and Hörl (885.8 points). The top three contenders in the race for the Golden Eagle are separated by just 1.3 points. The decision for the overall victory will be made on Sunday (January 5) and Monday (January 6) during the qualification and competition in Bischofshofen.

Deschwanden Can’t Narrow the Gap
Innsbruck has already brought early clarity: The tournament victory will be decided among the three Austrians. Swiss competitor Gregor Deschwanden, currently fourth overall, fell further behind with jumps of 126 and 129 meters, placing him fourth on the day and trailing the Austrian trio by 23.8 points.

Paschke: "No Longer the Carefreedom"
Also for Paschke, the gap in the overall standings widened, placing him sixth, 39.6 points behind Kraft. The athlete from Kiefersfelden didn’t want to lament missed chances: "No," he answered regarding whether the gap hurt. "Everyone is the architect of their own fortune. The others are simply jumping extremely well. I lack a bit of that carefreeness; it's not like it was in Winter," analyzed Paschke, who already lost the yellow jersey of the World Cup leader during New Year’s jump. "In the last sequence, I haven't been able to fully let go and execute the jump properly. And then a few meters are missing."

Horngacher: "Looked Cramped"
German national coach Stefan Horngacher remarked on the overall mixed performance of his team: "It still looked a bit cramped. It wasn't entirely relaxed. There’s a lot of pressure; the athletes want to do their best. Sometimes it backfires. Perhaps that's what happened today."

Three Germans in the Top 15
From the German perspective, only Paschke, Andreas Wellinger, and Philipp Raimund reached the finals of the best 30. Wellinger finished as the second-best German behind Paschke in 13th place. After jumping 127 meters and ranking 14th in the first round, he improved his position with 124.5 meters in the final.

Raimund Achieves Best Seasonal Result
Raimund couldn't maintain his strong jumps from qualifying and training, in which he had placed seventh and fourth, respectively. The 24-year-old jumped 124 meters in the first round, finishing 23rd. In the final, he improved his jump to 128.5 meters, moving up eight places to finish 15th, achieving his best result of the season.

"After my fourth place in the trial round, I had hoped for more. Perhaps I wanted too much; that could be why I couldn't execute the fine detail perfectly," said Raimund after the competition, sharing a positive outlook nonetheless: "I'm still very satisfied. Innsbruck was great and a step up from the last weeks."

Geiger Missing Finals - 'It Really Hurts'
Three Germans didn’t make it to the finals of the top 30. Geiger, in particular, missed out on being the overall eighth in the tournament. In his direct duel, he couldn’t beat American Kevin Bickner (125.5 meters) with his jump of 124 meters. Geiger also failed to secure a direct continuation due to a wobble right after the landing, which cost him points.

"The conditions were a bit slippery; it cut into my ski. Fortunately, I didn't fall. But this really hurts when it comes to the form points," Geiger remarked to Sportschau's microphone. In the end, he missed the fifth place in the Lucky Loser ranking, Marius Lindvik from Norway, by 3.8 points, resulting in Geiger finishing 34th in the tournament.

Hoffmann and Tittel Place 44th and 45th
Both Felix Hoffmann and Adrian Tittel also failed to secure a second jump in Innsbruck. Hoffmann cleared 115.5 meters against Pole Jakub Wolny (120.5 meters), while Tittel recorded 114 meters against Czech Roman Koudelka (117.5 meters). Eventually, Hoffmann and Tittel finished the day in 44th and 45th places, respectively.

More on the Four Hills Tournament

• Watch the summary of the Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck
• Results of the Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck.