Geiger talks about ancient ghost custom after victory
In the fifth competition of the World Cup season, Karl Geiger ends the winning streak of Austria's high-flyer Stefan Kraft. The 30-year-old sees his first victory in a long time as redemption. Especially as Geiger wins on a hill that has long been a headache for the Germans.
Perhaps there really is something to the "Klausentreiben". On St. Nicholas' Day, Karl Geiger and his daughter Luisa went to Oberstdorf to take part in the ancient Alemannic custom of the "Stelldichein" with all kinds of scary figures. "This was to drive away evil spirits," said the five-time ski jumping world champion. And Geiger promptly achieved his first World Cup victory in Klingenthal three days later after an agonizing 22 months. The evil hill spirits? As if conjured away!
"I'm very happy to finally be at the top again - it's been a while," said Geiger after his triumph on Saturday evening in Vogtland, Saxony: "I enjoyed every second of the award ceremony." Just 20 days before the start of the Four Hills Tournament (December 29 to January 6), the "old Karle" is suddenly back. Thanks to the Klausentreiben.
"I'd be lying if I said you never have any doubts. Somehow you can't get out of the quagmire and don't know what else to do," said Geiger after his 14th World Cup victory, giving an insight into his inner life. As cool as the 30-year-old from the Allgäu seems, the fact that things had been inexplicably out of round for a long time had taken its toll on Geiger.
All the greater was the joy at the redemptive victory, especially as it had a historic component. "It's unbelievable that no German had ever won here before," said national coach Stefan Horngacher. Andreas Wellinger, who finished a strong fourth this time, had achieved the best individual German result in Klingenthal to date in 2013 with second place.
The "flying double" is no more
In an "amazing jump" (Horngacher), Geiger also ended the winning streak of Austria's top star Stefan Kraft, who had won the first four competitions of the season. "We wanted to aim for victory, even though Kraft seemed unbeatable," said Horngacher. It was "sensational" for the head coach that not only Geiger is a winning jumper again with the penultimate pre-tour weekend, but that Wellinger and Pius Paschke (5th) also proved their top form.
However, Geiger, who has been chasing the first German tour victory since Sven Hannawald in 2001/02 for years, did not want to overrate his success - he is still ignoring the four-hill start in his home town of Oberstdorf. "It was important for me to get back to the steps I've been working on over the past few weeks," he said.
Geiger will have to make two changes in his twelfth World Cup season. Because the charismatic double Olympic champion Wellinger is in his best form for a long time, the quiet man from Oberstdorf is not as much in the spotlight as he has been recently. Which shouldn't be a bad thing for him.
But then he also lost his partner in the "flying double room" in the winter flat-sharing community that has existed since his school days. His long-time congenial partner Markus Eisenbichler did not make it into the World Cup team; on his season debut in the second-tier Continental Cup, the six-time world champion only finished 14th in team-mate Luca Roth's victory. The road back to the very stable German A team seems a long one. It is quite possible that the "Karle" will also have to do without the advice of the "Eisei" at the Tour.
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In the upcoming Four Hills Tournament, Karl Geiger aims to continue his exceptional form, having recently won his first World Cup competition in Klingenthal after a haul of 22 months. This victory came just days after participating in the Alemannic custom of St. Nicholas' Day, known as the "Stelldichein," which involved confronting scary figures to drive away evil spirits.
Excelling in the fifth World Cup competition, Geiger delivered a "flying double" jump, successfully ending Austria's Stefan Kraft's winning streak in ski jumping. This victory was particularly significant, as Klingenthal had historically been a challenging hill for the Germans, making Geiger's success all the more noteworthy.
Source: www.ntv.de
