The ÖSV ski jumpers also leave the second highlight of the season with empty hands after the tour. Clemens Aigner, Manuel Poppinger, Michael Hayböck and the fourth individual Stefan Kraft had to settle for fifth place in the team competition of the ski-flying title fights in Oberstdorf, the worst result so far. As in 2016, gold went to the favourite Norwegians.
Individual world champion Daniel Andre Tande, Robert Johansson, Andreas Stjernen and Johann Andre Forfang won superior to Slovenia, Poland and Germany. While his Austrian coaches Alexander Stöckl with the winners and Stefan Horngacher with Poland were able to cheer for new medals, Heinz Kuttin was quite invited.
The ÖSV-Cheftrainer took his protégés with unusually sharp words into the obligation:”We are disappointed, that was not good. We’ve done a lot of work, a lot of work, but we’re not getting it into the competition. Now I’m going to turn off a lot of things,”Kuttin rumbled. Regeneration time is the most important thing, and the lads simply don’t have enough. They’ll have to take their own noses, which will be one of the most important points.”
After his first medal-less performance in his tenure, his patience is exhausted:”At some point, it’s enough, they can do much more. You have to work, you have to trust, but you also have to kick your ass,”emphasized the Carinthian.
Everyone is physically fit, jumping technically well and we are there with the material – except for the Norwegians “, said Kuttin and handed out a powerful side blow on the victors’ suits.” These are our own fabrics, they fly, they also look very big – everything will fit for the Norwegians, for us it was different. There’s something good in there that makes them fly so well,”Kuttin said about the matte dark clothing. The Norwegians had already competed at the Kulm with these suits and had also dominated there.
However, his troops were also without any chance against Slovenia, Poland and Germany. With the beaten Hayböck and without the non-nominated Gregor Schlierenzauer and Manuel Fettner, bronze was in the field of only eight European nations (amongst others, the European championship). Japan was missing) more than 100 points removed. There were more than 170 to the Norwegians. Two years ago, Kraft, Hayböck, Fettner and Poppinger took bronze at the Kulm.
World Cup debutant Aigner (200 m/202 m) took fifth place at the beginning, although it remained in the same position after the less intoxicating flights of Poppinger (194.5/208), the slightly injured Hayböck (187/212) and Kraft (200/202).
We are of course disappointed, we have to pull ourselves together and look forward. Unfortunately, the miracle didn’t happen,”said the double world champion of Lahti. He himself and the rest of the team simply lack a certain lightness and ease.
We still have two or three weeks to get closer again,”said Kraft. I’ll prepare myself physically super, I’m not worried that it won’t work out,”said the third-placed Salzburg rider, who finished third three times in the course of the season.
Hayböck took something positive after his crash with the passable flights despite the injury to his forearm “Now I drive away with a better feeling than with a fall as the last jump. At least for me, it paid off that I bit my teeth together.”
However, there is not much time for wound licking. Before the Olympic clothing race on Tuesday, there will be a joint training session in Planica before continuing to the World Cup in Zakopane. The last weak Schlierenzauer and Fettner will presumably be present there as well.