Amazed by the favorite

Stefan Kraft: “We were already looking stupid”

Stefan Kraft

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Germany has been waiting over 20 years for a Four Hills Tournament winner from its own ranks. Ahead of the 73rd edition, Pius Paschke is carrying the burden of being the co-hosts' great hope for the first time. "The eight competitions before Engelberg were massively good. We looked stupid when he won even with mistakes," says Stefan Kraft.

The 34-year-old Paschke has jumped into the limelight this season with his World Cup wins number two to six. However, at the dress rehearsal at the venue of his first success last year in Engelberg, of all places, the World Cup leader failed twice.

Pius Paschke

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Whether these are the first signs of a dip in form, or just two slip-ups in the poor weather conditions in Switzerland, will become clear at the opening round in Oberstdorf this weekend. In any case, the jersey of the World Cup leader has not been a good omen for the Germans recently, with Richard Freitag (2017/18) and Karl Geiger (2021/22) both coming away empty-handed as overall leaders in the tour.

The ÖSV jumpers, who have also been waiting ten years for an overall victory, naturally have Paschke on their radar after his dream run. "He is certainly also a top favorite," said Stefan Kraft. The man from Salzburg is not ignoring Andreas Wellinger either. "Andi is very good on the tour hills and has already won once this year," emphasized the 2014/15 tour champion.

Paschke challenged in new role
Kraft himself, who is still winless this season, is one of Paschke's fiercest rivals, as are his team-mates Daniel Tschofenig and Jan Hörl. "Pius is definitely the favorite for the tour because he already has five wins and has been consistent," said Tschofenig. ÖSV ski jumping boss Florian Liegl is curious to see how Paschke will deal with the new situation as a hot contender for victory. "It will be an interesting situation for Pius to go into the tour as the top favorite," said Liegl.

Jan Hörl (left) and Daniel Tschofenig

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Hörl is not expecting a slump from Paschke. "Pius was very consistent, even if things didn't go so well in Engelberg. I don't think he'll hang his head, but will come back really strong. We'll have to fight and try to annoy whoever is in front," said the man from Salzburg. He sees his team in the hunter position. "That role suits us very well. It's almost the better option than being the hunted."

Austria-Germany duel to be expected
There are many indications that the traditional event will be a pure international battle between Austria and Germany this time. In terms of victories, the Germans have been in the lead so far this winter with six. However, Hörl and Tschofenig, who have each won twice, together with Kraft and other ÖSV athletes, took almost all of the remaining podium places. Hörl and Tschofenig were also at the top before the Christmas break in Engelberg.

"There's a good chance that the winner this year will come from Germany or Austria. The Austrians are naturally favored as a collective going into the tour. The path to victory will lead through this team," said former DSV coach Werner Schuster. According to the Eurosport expert, experience speaks in favor of Kraft or a German winner, especially as others such as defending champion Ryoyu Kobayashi have not been able to impress so far. "The DSV athletes are very experienced. That can be an advantage, because apart from Stefan Kraft, all of the favorites to win the tour are actually newcomers in this role." If Paschke lives up to expectations and trumps the ÖSV armada, he would be the first German Tour winner since Sven Hannawald in 2001/02.