For Wellinger's success, teammate Geiger is backing off
Andreas Wellinger is still the leader in the Four Hills Tournament. But the qualification for the competition in Innsbruck is anything but promising. But his teammate Karl Geiger wipes away the skepticism. And also takes away the relevance of his own problems.
Karl Geiger also sees an opportunity in the weaker qualification of Four Hills Tournament hopeful Andreas Wellinger in Innsbruck. "Who knows, maybe this is a chance. Let the wind change a bit during the competition. Then it will be more difficult for those at the back and maybe better for those in the middle phase," said Geiger.
Tournament leader Wellinger only came 15th in qualifying and will therefore jump much earlier than his main rival Ryoyu Kobayashi from Japan in the first round (13:30/ZDF, Eurosport and ntv.de live ticker). Wellinger already has to compete in the first round in pairing eleven, against the Italian Andrea Campregher his advancement is of course mandatory.
However, he is already the last German in the order, with his teammates even ahead of him due to the poor qualification of all the Germans. With Stephan Leyhe against Philipp Raimund, there is even a German-German duel for a place in the second round.
"Should do his thing"
"Of course it's not nice to be in a different position now. But you can't overestimate a day like today," said Geiger, referring to Wellinger's qualification. "It was incredibly windy today and Andi certainly had it worse today. You really have to keep your feet on the ground and really try to classify the jump itself. I know he's jumping very well and he can build on that."
Unlike Wellinger, things are not going as planned for Geiger at the season highlight. In the overall tour rankings, the Oberstdorf native, who started as one of the favorites, is only in 14th place. But he doesn't want to take tips from Wellinger. "I don't want to burden Andi with my problems right now," said Geiger. "Let him do his thing and see if he can bring it home."
Taciturn Kobayashi a "pleasant contemporary"
Kobayashi, his biggest rival, is only 1.8 points behind Wellinger in the overall standings after two jumps. The Japanese is known for his monosyllabic nature, but the German still praised him: "He is a very calm and pleasant fellow. You can have fun with him, even if it's only non-verbal. And he's a damn good ski jumper." His lead is only about one meter. "Nobody asked me beforehand, but I definitely had him at the top of my list of favorites because he has developed very well in recent weeks. He has already won a lot, so he knows what he has to do," said Wellinger about the two-time tour winner.
Kobayashi caused a laugh at the press conference after the competition in Oberstdorf when he was asked about his relationship with Wellinger. Kobayashi was asked whether he had ever gone for coffee with the German, for example. His short answer: "I don't drink coffee."
For Wellinger, this monosyllabicity is the expression of a mentality. "He doesn't talk too much with me now either. The Japanese mentality is a bit different. I get the impression that he doesn't want to talk too much because he doesn't want to say the wrong thing, because neither his German nor his English is perfect. That's why he keeps it short and sweet in Japanese."
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Andreas Wellinger's strong performance in the Four Hills Tournament has made him the top contender, despite a challenging qualification for the Innsbruck competition. Karl Geiger, his teammate, sees this as an opportunity, suggesting that the wind conditions might favor those in the middle phases.
Despite his current difficulties in the Four Hills Tournament, Kobayashi remains a formidable opponent for Wellinger, only 1.8 points behind in the overall standings. Geiger admires Kobayashi's calm demeanor, describing him as a "very calm and pleasant fellow."
Source: www.ntv.de
