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Norway's first eagle bearer in 16 years: Halvor Egner Granerud
Photo: Christian Bruna/EPA
Granerud's flight of the bumblebee:
Actually, it was wrongly said for a while that the bumblebee couldn't fly at all.
But since the bumblebee doesn't know that, it still flies.
Now the thesis with the overly fat bumblebee has long since been refuted, and the tour winner Halvor Egner Granerud, who won his third day after world-class jumps of 139.5 and 143.5 meters in Bischofshofen, has little in common with the insect.
And yet it is amazing how the Norwegian manages his brilliant distances, when his jumps always look as if he is giving away several meters.
Flying is done in the head:
"He jumped a meter too early in the first jump, had a tow ski without end and suddenly he was pulled up three meters in the air again," marveled DSV eagle Philipp Raimund.
For Granerud's trainer Andreas Stöckl, the reason is obvious: Granerud's self-confidence is what carries him from victory to victory.
“A month ago he would have broken off the jump and landed at 110 meters,” the Austrian speculated.
The result:
In the end, the daily podium and the tour podium only differed in the order of second and third place: Granerud was enthroned at the very front, followed by Dawid Kubacki from Poland and the Slovenian Anže Lanišek finished the 71st Four Hills Tournament in second and third place .
Lanišek and Kubacki swapped places when jumping on the Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze.
Read the announcement about the competition here.
Let dad do it:
Actually, the tour was already decided after three quarters.
Two stage wins, one second place, Granerud was in top form, the World Cup leader Kubacki was already about 13 meters behind and only finished 16th in the practice round.
But shortly before jumping, Kubacki's wife Marta posted a good omen on Instagram: the birth of their daughter on Epiphany.
Two more fingers that could be crossed – and when Kubacki last became a father during the tour two years ago, he then won the show jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
The first round:
The competition started very German.
This was due to the fact that in the knockout phase of the tour, the average jumpers got their turn first, and the DSV-Adler, fifth in the nation ranking and not among the top ten in the final account of the tour, are no longer above average this season.
Karl Geiger lost his duel, but made it through as a lucky loser, Markus Eisenbichler was denied even that.
In front, the world's best attacked the 140 meters, Austria's Stefan Kraft jumped over it and thus caused the inrun to be shortened by one hatch.
But Kubacki, Lanišek and Granerud made up the top positions even with less speed.
The good mood flyer:
At least you didn't have to paint everything black from the DSV point of view: Constantin Schmid showed a good competition, Andreas Wellinger is still missing a lot from the top, but consistency is back.
Above all, the 22-year-old Raimund showed once again how he can advance German ski jumping: with jumps of up to 136 meters, twelfth place and a carefree attitude that the brooding old stars are currently lacking.
The second round:
In the second attempt, Kubacki showed his longest jump of the day and landed at 140 meters, Lanišek lost a few points, but had enough cushion from the first round to show.
And Granerud?
He flew in his own league: coach Andreas Stöckl had the inrun shortened in front of his protégé.
For the bonus points?
Or to protect Granerud from too dangerous an expanse?
Even with a handicap, Granerud landed at 143.5 meters, it was the longest jump of the day.
Now don't say anything:
For the first time since Anders Jacobsen in 2007, a Norwegian is back on top of the tour podium, winning the golden eagle and 100,000 Swiss francs.
Granerud celebrated in the outlet with his colleagues and the national flag, only to appear completely perplexed for the ZDF interview: "All my German is gone, and I'm barely speaking English," he apologized in two languages while telling how often he'd just sat on his bed and been bored lately.
System error?
Others had more to say.
ZDF expert Toni Innauer, for example, who was not really happy about the team spirit of the Austrians on the tour.
"When you have five in the top ten, you realize: you need a winner," said the ski jumping veteran.
»That is not always the systematic achievement.
So you have to wait.« Conversely, it can be said that those who, like the German team, have athletes who have always been able to jump for victories in the past, but have not placed a jumper in the top 10 of the tour, may have to question a little more.
"It was a difficult Four Hills Tournament for everyone involved," national coach Stefan Horngacher sighed, but Raimund and Schmid gave him hope - maybe a little too much:
Wipe your mouth, let's move on:
The DSV jumpers now have eight days to clear their heads and get their performance back to the desired level: Then the competition in Zakopane, Poland, continues.
After all, the burning glass of the tour no longer hovers over Geiger, Eisenbichler and the rest of the German squad.