Will DSV-Adler Karl Geiger become the first German tour winner in 20 years?
Created: 12/30/2021, 12:14 PM
Ski jumper Karl Geiger wants to cause a surprise at the Four Hills Tournament © Gian Ehrenzeller / dpa
The Four Hills Tournament starts on December 29, 2021.
The Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi is a favorite, but DSV-Adler Karl Geiger wants to outperform the competition.
Munich / Oberstdorf - Karl Geiger's mission is clearly defined: Germany's most consistent ski jumper in recent years is to take the first tour victory since Sven Hannawald 20 years ago. On December 28th, the 28-year-old started the qualification for today's kick-off in Oberstdorf as the leader of the overall World Cup. The fact that Geiger is allowed to wear the yellow camisole is somewhat confusing, because he is not the big favorite. This honor goes to the Japanese high-flyer Ryoyu Kobayashi.
The 25-year-old is actually the real World Cup leader: He got 496 points from six competitions, Kobayashi was missing twice (three wins of the season) because of a corona infection, once because of a disqualification - makes an average of 82.6.
Competitor Geiger (two wins) had 594 points (66.0) in nine starts.
Because "Koba" is almost back in the form of his touring grand slam of 2018/19, he is the man to beat.
Four Hills Tournament: Ryoyu Kobayashi with the greatest chance of overall victory
Kobayashi comes from a ski jumping family from Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan, and his sister and brother also fly off the jumps.
The noble aviator has always had talent, but in the beginning he preferred to devote himself to his pre-owned SUV-Porsche instead of hard training.
"I tried again and again to get him to do more training, but he wasn't happy about it," admitted exercise bike Janne Väätäinen to the Tyrolean daily newspaper a few years ago.
The Finn also stated at the time that Kobayashi “has a natural talent that other athletes definitely do not have”.
At some point, the young Ryoyu realized this and became more serious.
Karl Geiger: German ski jumping ace wants to cause a surprise
Little can be got out of him in interviews, but every now and then a mischievous grin crosses his face. "He freaked out a bit and also makes a lot of nonsense," says Markus Eisenbichler. For sponsor Red Bull he got into a helicopter together with the Austrian ex-jumper Thomas Morgenstern (35) before the pandemic. In the summer he met compatriot Yuki Tsunoda (21) at the Formula 1 race in Spielberg and a few weeks ago he posted a picture with rapper JP THE WAVY.
Opposite is Karl Geiger.
The down-to-earth hope from Oberstdorf married his girlfriend Franziska two years ago, and his daughter Luisa was born shortly afterwards.
On the hill he is more of the worker type and not the over-talent.
He knows that many eyes will be on him in the coming days, but he doesn't believe in the cult of star.
“We are completely normal guys who happen to be doing an extraordinary sport.
We think it's cool that viewers also find it interesting and fascinating, ”Geiger told the
FAZ
, but:“ We're not folk heroes.
We are completely normal kids. "