Ski jumping - Wellinger: Rivalry with Austria makes or breaks the tour
Olympic ski jumping champion Andreas Wellinger considers the duels between German and Austrian athletes at the Four Hills Tournament to be fundamental.
"Of course it's nice that we have this rivalry. That's what makes the tour. It's also what makes the teams. Without the duel, it would be a bit boring," said Wellinger at the German team hotel in Fischen. Alongside Wellinger, Karl Geiger and Pius Paschke from the German team, Austria's overall World Cup leader Stefan Kraft is the favorite to win the title at the 72nd Tournament.
Before the start on Friday (17:15/ARD and Eurosport) in Oberstdorf, there has been a break of over one and a half weeks. National coach Stefan Horngacher assumes that many weakening nations have caught up since the World Cup in Engelberg. "The time factor always helps when you're not jumping well. But we also made pretty good use of the time, even with a longer regeneration phase," described Horngacher. The Germans were still in action until December 20 and then took an extended break from jumping over Christmas.
The 54-year-old coach expressly approves of the change of hotel from the Oberstdorf district of Tiefenbach to Fischen. This has "certainly nothing" to do with superstition. "It just makes sense when you spend 99 percent of your training days here that we also stay here during the tour. The guys know their way around, everyone knows exactly where to get everything. It's a logical consequence. It was a very good move," said Horngacher.
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Source: www.stern.de
