Cheers in the team competition

ÖSV eagles lead at half time in Planica

Stefan Kraft and Co. celebrate.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Austria's men's ski flying elite won the team competition at the World Cup final in Planica on Saturday. The competition only scored one round, too strong winds made it impossible to complete the second heat. 

The red-white-red quartet repeated last year's team success in Slovenia, primarily thanks to Huber. After the third of four mini-runs, the team from the host country was ahead, although Timi Zajc crashed on his attempt at 242.5 meters. As on the previous day, Kraft, who jumped soon after the local hero, did not really get going and had to settle for 211.0 meters. The overall World Cup winner thus jumped the least distance in the Austrian team. Starting man Tschofenig had landed at 225.0 m, Hayböck at 215.5 m.

Huber: "It was very enjoyable"
"It was really cool", said Huber, who only joined the World Cup team at the beginning of the year, on ORF. He had very good upwind conditions during his flight and the landing was one without any risks in reaction to the Zajc crash. "It was very enjoyable again. It is extremely important that you are a bit sensitive in the middle section. But when the pressure comes, you can go full throttle. It's a balancing act, but I'm managing it very well at the moment." Kraft: "I'm struggling with the hill. I can only hope that the button will open at some point."

Daniel Huber

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Huber would have clearly won an individual ranking, Kraft would have finished 13th. For the two men from Salzburg, the last competition of the season on Sunday (9.30 am) is about winning the Ski Flying World Cup. After his second place in the first individual competition on Friday, Huber is now only 47 points behind Kraft. Peter Prevc is 34 points behind. The Slovenian won on Friday and ends his career on Sunday, on Saturday he came third on 223.5 m and "individual rank". With such an outcome, Huber would snatch the discipline ranking.

With the 400 points gained, Austria has set a new points record in the Nations Cup, and with currently 7,937 points, the 8,000 mark will probably also fall on Sunday. Slovenia (4,990) and Germany (4,971) will be battling it out for second place.

Worries about Bresadola
In addition to Zajc, Giovanni Bresadola also crashed on Saturday; the Italian had to be taken away by ambulance. In the qualification on Thursday, the Finn Eetu Nousianen suffered a torn cruciate ligament and a torn meniscus in a fall.