Ryoyu Kobayashi dominates Grand Prix final in Klingenthal
Oct 02, 2021·Ski Jumping
Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN) and Halvor Egner Granerud (NOR) are now the top favorites for the 2021/22 winter season. The overall World Cup champions of 2018/19 (Kobayashi) and 2020/21 (Granerud) are in fantastic shape and whoever wants to win in the upcoming winter, will have to beat Kobayashi and Granerud.
For Ryoyu Kobayashi, today's win was his fifth in the Grand Prix, the last time the 24-year-old stood on top of the podium in a Grand Prix was in Hakuba (JPN) 2019.
"Last winter I always only had one good jump, today I was able to show two good jumps. I'm really looking forward to the winter season and I'm on the right track. I'm especially looking forward to Ski Flying next winter, but of course, the Winter Olympics are also a big goal", said Kobayashi.
"My goal for the winter is to jump better than last year, looking at how Ryoyu is jumping now I think that's what's needed. I'll have to work hard to beat him and I'll do my best", said Halvor Egner Granerud, who won three of the four competitions he took part in this summer and finished second today in Klingenthal.
The fourth place today went to Dawid Kubacki (POL), who could move up to second in the overall ranking of the Grand Prix with this good result.
Constantin Schmid and Karl Geiger were the best of the German team in fifth and eighth this afternoon, Severin Freund and Andreas Wellinger came in 17th and 19th. Markus Eisenbichler crashed in the trial round and even though the World Champion didn't sustain any injuries, he decided not to take part in the competition.
For the Austrian team, the event in Klingenthal didn't go well at all. After Stefan Kraft was disqualified in yesterday's qualification, today Philipp Aschenwald and Mika Schwann shared this fate in the equipment control. Michael Hayboeck couldn't take part due to back problems and so Markus Schiffner was the only Austrian on the result list today in 30th.
Halvor Egner Granerud had already secured the overall title of the Grand Prix before today's competition. With 380 points, last winter's overall World Cup champion won ahead of Poland's Dawid Kubacki (242 points) and Austrian Jan Hoerl, who didn't compete in Klingenthal due to a cold and a death in the family.
The Ski Jumping World Cup starts seven weeks from now on November 20th and 21st in Nizhny Tagil (RUS).
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