Are the Germans breaking the seemingly eternal slump?

Two countries, four ski jumps, one golden eagle: starting this Friday, the ski jumping Four Hills Tournament is once again all about sporting prestige and a lot of money for the winner. The traditional competitions will be held in Oberstdorf (December 29), Garmisch-Partenkirchen (January 1), Innsbruck (January 3) and Bischofshofen (January 6). The German fans are hoping for the first overall tour victory for a DSV eagle since Sven Hannawald's triumph in 2002. The season is going extremely well for Andreas Wellinger, Karl Geiger and Pius Paschke. Who could get in their way and how the women are getting involved: The most important questions and answers about the 72nd edition of the ski jumping spectacle.

Who are the favorites?

The top favorite comes from Austria and knows how to win the tour: Stefan Kraft is the best jumper of the season so far. The 30-year-old, who was already Tour champion in 2014/15, has won five out of eight competitions. Kraft also won the dress rehearsal in Engelberg, Switzerland. "Victory only goes through him, there's no getting around that," says Jens Weißflug, 1994 Olympic champion. "That's perhaps a good thing, as the pressure isn't quite so high for the Germans."

A trio of German challengers has formed behind Kraft. Andreas Wellinger, Karl Geiger and senior team member Pius Paschke are also among the favorites. Wellinger has shown the greatest consistency of the German team so far. The 28-year-old has jumped onto the podium four times. Only once did he not finish in the top five. "If I had to choose one, it would be him. He absolutely has the potential," says Weißflog about Wellinger's chances of winning the title.

Geiger and Paschke have achieved what the latter is still lacking this season: both have already enjoyed victories. Geiger won both competitions at the German home event in Klingenthal. The 33-year-old Paschke sensationally won the penultimate competition before the tour. Stephan Leye and Philipp Raimund are also competing for Germany. Weißflog assesses the chances of a German overall winner as follows: "Very good, you can't argue with that after this start to the season. But everything has to go right for it to work. If someone ends up on the podium, that would be great."

The tour winners of the past two years, Halvor Egner Granerud from Norway and Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi, have not shown their brilliant form so far this winter. However, Kobayashi in particular, who has already won the tour twice, should not be written off.

How is the tour winner determined?

That's easy to explain: the points from all eight rounds of the competition are added together and the jumper with the highest total score wins. The only unusual aspect is the starting order in the competition: unlike in the World Cup, the athletes do not jump in the reverse order of the overall World Cup to determine the best 30 for the second round, but in 25 knockout duels, which are determined in the qualification: The best meets the 50th, the second meets the 49th - and so on. The winners of the duels plus five best runners-up reach the final.

What does the winner get?

In addition to the golden eagle, the overall winner of the tour can also look forward to a financial bonus from the state. 100,000 Swiss francs (around 105,000 euros) will be awarded to the champion. In addition, there is the usual World Cup prize money from the Fis World Ski Federation for the individual competitions. These are paid out in stages to the top 30 athletes in each competition. At the Four Hills Tournament, winning the qualification is also worthwhile. This is worth 3000 francs (around 3160 euros).

Who is the flying dinosaur?

Simon Ammann is celebrating a fabulous anniversary. This will be the Swiss athlete's 25th participation. The now 42-year-old four-time Olympic champion has once again been nominated for the Swiss squad. Last winter, after a late start to the season in the Continental Cup, the experienced athlete had to find his feet again and was absent from the prestigious event with the competitions in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen for the first time since 2000/2001.

What is the status of a tour for women?

It is clear that there will be a four-hill tour for women ski jumpers. But when and how is still open. With the so-called "Two Nights Tour", the jumpers want to come closer together. For the first time, they will be holding World Cups on the traditional Tournament hills in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (December 30) and Oberstdorf (January 1) around the turn of the year.

However, Hannawald doesn't want to talk about half a Four Hills Tournament because there are only two competitions: "I can't do anything by halves," said the 49-year-old, adding: "I'm not talking about half a tour, but about jumping in Garmisch. I'm not talking about a tour just yet." He also explained: "If there is a women's tour, then it's the original one. It starts in Oberstdorf and ends in Bischofshofen. I don't think much of setting up an alibi tour and then doing something all over the place."

The women themselves are more optimistic: "We just need to tweak a few things so that we have a complete tour," says the world champion in the team and mixed team, Selina Freitag. Olympic champion Wellinger says: "They should get the chance for a Four Hills Tournament. It's a process that's still going on, where the ladies are developing extremely well."

There are currently still too many organizational problems for a complete women's tour with competitions in all four locations. The ski associations from Germany and Austria are working together to solve them. A tour premiere for the female ski jumpers as early as next year is not out of the question.

Where can you watch the jumps?

For all those who are not watching live on the ski jump, there is once again a comprehensive TV offer. ARD and ZDF traditionally split the coverage of the tour. ARD will be reporting on the qualifications and competitions at the opening competition in Oberstdorf and the final competition in Bischofshofen, Austria. ZDF will be present in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck. All qualifications and competitions can also be seen on Eurosport. The "Two Nights Tour" will be broadcast in full by Eurosport. ARD will also be reporting on the first women's jumping competition, while ZDF will be covering the New Year's competition of the athletes around triple world champion Katharina Schmid.

Read also:

The Four Hills Tournament is not only about winter sports, but also about participating in the prestigious event for women ski jumpers. Although a complete women's tour with competitions in all four locations has not been confirmed yet, world champion Selina Freitag and Olympic champion Andreas Wellinger are optimistic about it.

During the tournament, spectators can watch Andreas Wellinger, Karl Geiger, and Pius Paschke, who are among the favorites to win, as well as Stefan Kraft from Austria, the current top favorite and the best jumper of the season so far. Kraft won five out of eight competitions, including the dress rehearsal in Engelberg, Switzerland.

Source: www.ntv.de