Fabian Rießle has saved the Olympic dress rehearsal of the German combiners with third place. The relay world champion had to admit defeat to the outstanding Japanese Akito Watabe and Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber at the Seefeld Triple in Tyrol. At the finish line, Rießle was 1’57.9 “behind Watabe, Riiber was 1’14.9” behind.
“It was very, very hard for me to run the whole race on my own, and the wind was brutally strong. Third place is worth an incredible amount,”said Rießle on ARD television.
Vinzenz Geiger dropped back from second to fourth place on the last day of the first highlight of the season despite another very strong performance, Olympic champion Eric Frenzel missed out on his fifth consecutive triple victory in sixth place.
Rießle went into the Mammut cross-country skiing over 15 kilometres on Sunday from fifth place, where he made up two positions and was in an enthralling finish after a photofinish decision ahead of the contemporary violinist,”Vinzenz is simply a brutal fighter, really impressive,”said Rießle. Geiger said:”Fourth, I never expected that. In the end I tried, but Fabian deserved it. I’m really broken, now I need to replenish my energy.”
Watabe had already won the first two stages in next year’s World Cup venue and scored a total of 300 World Cup points. Frenzel showed at least a slightly rising tendency after last weak performances on the hill.
On the other hand, record world champion Johannes Rydzek experienced a weekend of oblivion. With a gap of more than five minutes behind Watabe, Germany’s athlete of the year went into the decisive cross-country race, with only 14th place remaining in the end. Routine Björn Kircheisen came two weeks before his fifth Olympic Games as 15th. to the finish line.
The five German Olympic riders will give up the World Cup in Hakuba, Japan, this weekend to prepare for the season’s highlight in Pyeongchang/South Korea.