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Richard Freitag unbeatable
18 December 2017 года
Richard Freitag unbeatable

Richard Freitag won the second competition in Engelberg. The 26-year-old presented himself in an outstanding shape again and took his third win this season with the best jumps in both rounds on 137.5 and 135 m. After this victory, Freitag is now the top favorite for the overall title at the 4-Hills-Tournament. The second and third place on Sunday in Engelberg went to Poland's Kamil Stoch and Austria's Stefan Kraft.

Richard Freitag: "After the second place yesterday I was looking forward to this competition. Today it was easier for everyone, the conditions were a lot better and it wasn't snowing. I already had a good start in the qualification, my first jump today was good and the second one was amazing. It's nice that it's going well for our entire team and we can enjoy it together. I'm optimistic for the 4-Hills-Tournament, the team spirit helps us", explained Freitag.

Second-placed Kamil Stoch will be one of the top contenders at this season's the 4-Hills-Tournament. The double Olympic champion, who won the 4-Hills title last winter is getting in his best shape right in time for the Tournament. "The conditions were better than yesterday. I'm very satisfied with this competition. My shape is good and so I'm calm and relaxed before the 4-Hills-Tournament. I don't feel any pressure now, I'm calm and I will work on some details before the 4-Hills-Tournament starts", said Stoch.

For Stefan Kraft, the third pace today was very important before the start of the 4-Hills-Tournament after his disappointing result yesterday. Kraft is jumping well and can and will fight for the overall title. Today he gained the necessary self-confidence. Stefan Kraft: "Last year I was also third in the second competition in Engelberg, this is a good sign for me. I hope that I can beat Richard in the upcoming weeks. The field is so close that you can be only 20th if you don't have a good take-off. Yesterday I was a bit angry, but I have to deal with it. I hope that we will go to the 4-Hills-Tournament in top shape."

Johann Forfang recovered

Norway's Johann Forfang recovered from his crash yesterday and came in fourth, only 2.4 points behind Stefan Kraft. Forfang's  teammates Andreas Stjernen (9th) and Daniel Andre Tande (10th) completed the good team result for Norway.

German athletes strong again

The final test before the opener of the 4-Hills-Tournament on December 29th in Oberstdorf was positive for the German team. Besides the winner Richard Freitag, Markus Eisenbichler and Andreas Wellinger also achieved top results in fifth and sixth, Karl Geiger was 12th, Stephan Leyhe 18th. Germany will start the 4-Hills-Tournament with the strongest team in many, many years.

Kobayashi loses ground again

Like already on Saturday, Junshiro Kobayashi of Japan could not defend the second place after the first round. Kobayashi again lost some ground with a mediocre second jump and came in eighth overall today. But Kobayashi remains a contender for a top result at the 4-Hills-Tournament.

Ammann on 11

Local hero Simon Ammann closely missed the Top 10 in eleventh, but can be satisfied with his performance and the result. The shape of the four-time Olympic champion is definitely getting better and better. It was a disappointing day for Swiss Gregor Deschwanden and Andreas Schuler, who came in 36th and 41st in their home World Cup.

With 550 points, Richard Freitag has a clear lead in the overall World Cup, ahead of Andreas Wellinger (399 points) and Norway's Daniel Andre Tande (356 points).

The ski jumpers will now have a short break around Christmas, before the World Cup continues with the opening event of the 4-Hills-Tournament on December 29th.

Full results

Source: fis-ski.com




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