Markus Eisenbichler wins prologue in Rasnov
Feb 18, 2021·Ski Jumping
Markus Eisenbichler won the prologue for the Ski Jumping World Cup in Rasnov (ROU) on Thursday. On the HS 97 hill of Rasnov, about a two-hour drive north of Bukarest, Eisenbichler posted a jump of 97 m (126.6 points). The second place went to Norway's Halvor Egner Granerud, followed by Kamil Stoch of Poland.
It was a small taste of success for Markus Eisenbichler, just days before the start of the Nordic World Championships in Oberstdorf, where the Bavarian wants to defend a total of three titles. Eisenbichler is the reigning World Champion on the large hill, with the team and the mixed team.
In Rasnov, the 29-year-old won the prologue today ahead of the Norwegian Halvor Egner Granerud, who has been unbeatable so many times during the course of this winter. Eisenbichler had the longest jump of the day with 97 m, he jumped three meters farther than second-placed Granerud.
Poland's Kamil Stoch finished third and also has a good chance to achieve a top result in tomorrow's competition.
The jury has turned the qualification into a prologue because there are only 49 athletes competing this weekend, and there were no surprises in today's round. Karl Geiger and Constantin Schmid in sixth and seventh provided for a strong team result of Germany, Pius Paschke was 11th. A similar result tomorrow would be just the right sign in the final test for the World Championships on their home soil
Gregor Deschwanden of Switzerland confirmed his top shape in eighth, Daniel Tschofenig tied for eighth with Deschwanden and was the best Austrian. Austria is represented by a few young athletes this weekend, among them also Niklas Bachlinger and David Haagen (18th and 19th today) who secured a 1-2 finish for Austria in last week's Junior World Championships.
The men's competition on Friday starts at 2:15 CET (3:15 LOC), followed by a mixed team competition in Saturday.
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