Next goal for Stefan Kraft: The overall World Cup title
Aug 31, 2018·Ski Jumping
After the, for him extremely successful, World Championships in Lahti (FIN) with two individual titles and a total of four medals, Stefan Kraft has now already set his sights on the next big goal: Winning the overall World Cup title.
"The fight for the World Cup title is now my main goal. Kamil Stoch is in a very good shape, but I'm in a great position myself. I expect it to be a close race until the very end. I'm now the chaser and I like this role a lot", said the 23-year-old Austrian, who is currently only 60 points behind the leading Pole with six individual competitions left this winter.
A first important step towards achieving this goal was the short break at home now. "Spending a few days at home was very important for me in order to get ready for the final phase of the season and the fight for the overall World Cup. There was a lot going on, but I was also able to enjoy it. On Tuesday I did some physical training and after that I was only relaxing and enjoying the time in the privacy of my own home."
Anticipation for Raw Air
But over the next days the fight for the overall World Cup will not be the sole focus of the athletes, with the Raw Air Tournament another major task is awaiting the ski jumpers towards the end of this season. "When I first heard about the Raw Air, I thought that it will be a tough, but very cool challenge. I like the hills in Norway and I also like the country a lot. The upcoming days will be very exhausting, but I know what to expect. I still feel very fit and well prepared", said Stefan Kraft, who will be on the Austrian team together with Michael Hayboeck, Gregor Schlierenzauer, Andreas Kofler, Markus Schiffner and Manuel Fettner.
Iraschko-Stolz injured
The Austrian ladies team for the World Cup final, which will be held this weekend in Oslo together with the men's World Cup, will only consist of Jacqueline Seifriedsberger and Chiara Hoelzl.
Daniela Iraschko-Stolz will miss the competition on the famous Holmenkollen due to an injury. "I got injured in a long training jump in Planica. First I didn't really worry about it and continued training, but then there was a swelling. Medical tests in Innsbruck then showed that I piece of cartilage broke off. Together with the doctors I decided that the injury will be treated conservatively, without surgery. This means that the season is over for me."
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