Karl Geiger claims the yellow bib with win in Val di Fiemme
Jan 11, 2020·Ski Jumping
Oberstdorf-native Karl Geiger was the winner of the first World Cup in Predazzo (ITA). Only five days after the 69th 4-Hills-Tournament, the 29-year-old showed to great jumps in Val di Fiemme and claimed the win and also the yellow bib of the overall World Cup leader. The second and third place went to Stefan Kraft of Austria and Poland's Dawid Kubacki.
Geiger jumped on 104.5 m and 103.5 m, scored the most points in both rounds and his total of 294.6 points earned him a clear win over Stefan Kraft, who jumped on 102 m and 103 m for 286.9 points. Dawid Kubacki finished third with his jumps of 98.5 m and 104 m (279.9 points).
Karl Geiger gets yellow bib for the first time
With today's win, Geiger also took the yellow bib from Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi, who was only 26th in today's competition. "Getting the yellow leader's bib ist something special and it makes me extremely happy. I will definitely keep it and it will get a special place. It's extremely important that my jumps are that consistent and stable this winter, that's what we have been working on for a long time. I'm just very happy about my jumps, and this is the reward", said Geiger.
Stefan Kraft told: "I’m very satisfied with today, the competition was super. The conditions were amazing and the second jump was even better than the first one, the landing was very good. I like the big hill more, this hill is a bit different because it’s smaller and the inrun is shorter but it’s still fun. I think that tomorrow the conditions will be good as well. The jumps were top today and I would be happy if I could jump even further tomorrow. "
Dawid Kubacki said after the competition: "Today I didn’t have much luck with the wind conditions in the first round. The jump was not as good as I wanted but it was ok, I landed in the top ten after the first round, so it wasn’t bad. In the second round, I had better wind conditions so the jump was slightly better and I’m really satisfied I could land on the podium. I’m also happy that my teammates were also in the top ten. Tomorrow I just have to go on the hill, work on the things I have to be focused on. For me, the most important thing is to do my job and be satisfied with it.
Kamil Stoch was fourth, only 0.1 points behind his teammate Dawid Kubacki, Piotr Zyla came in on a good seventh place.
German team strong
20-year-old German Constantin Schmid confirmed his upward trend with a strong fifth place and could celebrate the strong team result of Germany together with his teammates Stephan Leyhe (6th), Pius Paschke (8th) and Karl Geiger. It seems almost time for Schmid's very first podium in the World Cup.
Best Norwegian was Johann Andre Forfang in ninth. The up-and-comer of the 4-Hills-Tournament, Marius Lindvik, was disqualified because his suit did not meet the rules.
Karl Geiger now leads the overall World Cup with 719 points ahead of Ryoyu Kobayashi (649 points) and Stefan Kraft (619 points).
The second competition in Predazzo starts on Sunday at 4 pm CET.
