OPA: Hirner with double victory, Lehnert and Rettenegger win

The third stage of the OPA Alpencup calendar took place in Villach (AUT) on the past weekend. Jumping sensation and local hero Lisa Hirner took both victories in the ladies’ category, while Luis Lehnert (GER) and Thomas Rettenegger (AUT) claimed the wins in the men’s class.

Lisa Hirner was the woman to set the bar on the jumping hill and won both Saturday’s and Sunday’s jumping rounds clearly. With 92 metres and 94 metres, Hirner ruled supreme on Villach’s HS 98 hill and claimed the pole positions with a head start of 48 seconds on Saturday and 21 seconds on Sunday. Her closest pursuers were Italy’s Annika Sieff and Ema Volavsek (SLO).

Setting the fourth best skiing time on Saturday, Hirner kept all pursuers at bay and finally finished unchallenged, 31-6 seconds ahead of runner-up Daniela Dejori from Italy. The Italian was the fastest athlete on the 4 km track and improved from rank seven to the silver position in the end. Germany’s Emiliy Schneider followed Dejori and skied from rank eight to position three with the second-fastest time. Schneider finished 44.2 seconds after Hirner. Annika Sieff, Maria Gerboth and Lena Brocard claimed positions four to six out of the 14 starters.

Final Results
Ski Jumping Results

In Sunday’s event, the gap was tighter but as the race was only a 2 km sprint, the other athletes did not have a lot of chances to catch up with the Austrian. In the end, jumping runner up Ema Volavsek remained second when she finsihed 30.4 seconds after the winner. Teammate Silva Verbic also managed to hold on to her third position but had to beat the fastest skier, Germany’s Maria Gerboth, in a finish line sprint. 0.2 seconds separated the two athletes in the end.

Final Results
Ski Jumping Results

In the overall standings, this means that Hirner is leading uncontested with 520 points over Daniela Dejori’s 360 points. Ema Volavsek moved to position three with 267 points.

Overall Standings

On the men’s side, Luis Lehnert (GER) ruled Saturday’s jumping event in a similar fashion to Hirner. 98 metres put him 48 seconds ahead of pursuer Edgar Vallet (FRA), who showed 92.5 metres. Rok Jelen was third with 92.5 metres and followed 50 seconds after Lehnert.

67 starters took up the race over the 10 km distance but in the end, Lehnert prevailed and crossed the finish line 6.8 seconds ahead of Austria’s Max Teeling who had skied his way up to the podium from rank six. Stefan Rettenegger improved from rank 14 to the bronze position and finished 11.8 seconds after Lehnert. Germany’s Adrian Gllareva made the biggest jump in positions. As the fastest skier on the track, he turned rank 54 after the jumping event to a final 18th position.

Final Results
Ski Jumping Results

Luis Lehnert jumped to the lead in the 6 km sprint event again (97 m, 129.5 p) but only had a narrow lead of eight seconds on runner-up Thomas Rettenegger (96 m; 127.5 p.) and  28 seconds on fast skier Marc Luis Rainer (94 m, 122.5 p.). Rettenegger and Lehnert duelled along the way on the track but ultimately, the Austrian needed about ten seconds less for the 6 km course and finished 2.8 seconds before Lehnert, giving both athletes a wind and another podium posiiton on the Villach weekend.

Marc Luis Rainer narrowed the gap down to 12.8 seconds at the finish line but was not able to endanger the first two athletes anymore. Wendelin Thannheimer (GER), David Zemek (CZE), Jonas Maier (GER), Fabian Hafner (AUT), Fabio Obermeyr (AUT), Max Teeling (AUT) and Christian Frank (GER) shared the rest of the Top Ten positions.

Final Results
Ski Jumping Results

In the overall ranking, this means a 325 point lead for Austrian Max Teeling. Florian Dagn, who was on start at the World Cup in Ramsau am Dachstein last weekend is still second with 220 points, followed by teammate Thomas Rettenegger with 214 points

Overall Standings