Akito Watabe returns to the top in Schonach
Aug 31, 2018·Nordic Combined
World Cup winner Akito Watabe does not show any signs of letting up. The Japanese clinched his 16th World Cup victory in Schonach and entered his name on the Schwarzwaldpokal winner list. After a strong cross-country race, Watabe finished 6.3 seconds ahead of Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber. Bernhard Gruber claimed the third place, +8.5 seconds after Watabe.
Jarl Riiber continued to rule the Langenwaldschanze in Schonach and also won this jumping round with a distance of 103.5 metres. A total of 120.7 points gave him a seven-second head start on Japanese Go Yamamoto, who also continued in strong jumping shape. Austria’s Mario Seidl turned some waiting time in a not always easy competition round into a very good jump of 97.5 metres, rank three in the intermediate result list and a time disadvantage of 40 seconds at the start.
Home favourite Fabian Rießle was the best German on position 14 and was still in striking distance for a home podium with a delay of one minute and 15 seconds at the start. World Cup overall winner Akito Watabe, usually a strong jumper, ranked only eleventh and had to contend with a delay of one minute and four seconds, the same starting time as Austrian veteran Bernhard Gruber.
Eric Frenzel had to say goodbye to his ambitions to win the Schwarzwaldpokal for the third time after the jumping part already. He only had a mediocre jump of 89 metres and started one minute and 48 seconds behind the leader.
The track was in a typical “Watabe” condition, meaning soft snow that makes it hard to ski fast, especially for the heavier athletes. The yellow-bib bearer lived up to his reputation to favour hard conditions. In an impressive race, Watabe stepped on the gas in the first two laps and had caught the leaders Yamamoto and Riiber by the 6.2 km point of the race. He brought Austria’s Mario Seidl and Bernhard Gruber with him, the latter finally recovered from a period of sickness during the Norwegian events.
Going out on the last lap, the group shrunk to four athletes and with Jørgen Graabak and Fabian Rießle chasing the leading group in a distance of around 40 seconds, it was clear the the victory and the podium ranks would be distributed among Watabe, Gruber, Riiber and Seidl. The Austrian youngster had to let up first and a strong Watabe set an attack at an uphill that none of the others were able to follow.
In the end, it was a clear victory for Watabe, Riiber and Gruber fought for rank two with the Norwegian emerging victorious. Mario Seidl finished fourth and Jørgen Graabak finally had reason to smile again with a strong fifth position, beating our Ilkka Herola in a sprint. A satisfied local hero Fabian Rießle finished seventh, adding a good result at the - for him - difficult home venue to his merit list. Espen Andersen, Willi Denifl and Vinzenz Geiger completed the Top Ten.
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