Ready for the Tournament

ÖSV eagles ensure triple victory in Engelberg!

Daniel Tschofenig (center) won ahead of Jan Hörl (left) and Stefan Kraft (right).

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

The second ski jumping event in Engelberg was also won by Austria's eagles on Sunday. 24 hours after the double victory, Red-White-Red in Switzerland even managed a triple success this time, Daniel Tschofenig triumphed ahead of Jan Hörl and Stefan Kraft. The ÖSV athletes seem to be well prepared for the Four Hills Tournament starting on December 29th.

The German World Cup leader Pius Paschke was once again only far behind. Paschke, already only eighth on Saturday, crashed to 18th place in the second competition, his lead over Tschofenig in the overall standings was reduced to 79 points. Nevertheless, Tschofenig did not want to see himself as the favorite for the Four Hills Tournament starting in Oberstdorf. "I wouldn't say that, Pius is still ahead of me in the World Cup," explained the Carinthian on ORF. On Saturday he had to let Hörl go first after leading at half-time, this time he took the front position with jumps of 135 and 137.5 meters. After 130 meters in the first jump, Hörl was also unable to reach the day's highest distance of 138.5 meters.

Daniel Tschofenig

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

After a delay of less than half an hour due to heavy snowfall, which had forced the women's competition to be abandoned two hours earlier, the competition finally went off without a hitch in acceptable conditions. Last but not least, defending World Cup champion Kraft was satisfied, having found his way back to his old strength in time for the tour after three poor jumps (11th, 9th, 14th). "We've given ourselves a nice Christmas present. We are all in very good shape," said the man from Salzburg.

 "What we showed today was brilliant"
 "We're right at the front with a clenched fist. Together we can win the tour, maybe we can do it," Kraft hoped after his 135-meter sets, which moved him up to fourth place in the overall standings ahead of Gregor Deschwanden (SUI), who finished fifth on Sunday. However, the gap to third-placed Hörl is still considerable at 164 points. Hörl, in turn, is 84 points behind Paschke. "What we showed today was brilliant. We are in a very, very good position," said the now two-time World Cup winner Tschofenig full of conviction ahead of the highlight around the turn of the year. However, hopes of securing the first Austrian Tour victory since Kraft in 2014/15 should not be overstretched. "Paschke must not be forgotten," warned Kraft. Hörl is also looking forward to the traditional series. "For me, I've already built up a lot of confidence in my ability and hope that things continue in this vein," said the 26-year-old.