Kick-off in Oberstdorf: ski jumper Geiger leads the German tour squad

Germany's best ski jumper Karl Geiger leads the line-up of co-hosts for the 71st Four Hills Tournament.

Kick-off in Oberstdorf: ski jumper Geiger leads the German tour squad

Germany's best ski jumper Karl Geiger leads the line-up of co-hosts for the 71st Four Hills Tournament.

In addition to Geiger, six other German athletes have been nominated for the major event, including Markus Eisenbichler, Andreas Wellinger and Stephan Leyhe, as the German Ski Association (DSV) announced on Boxing Day. Behind the 29-year-old violinist, Pius Paschke, who is also taking part, was the most convincing in the previous World Cup winter.

Constantin Schmid and Philipp Raimund complete the team of trainer Stefan Horngacher, who will start the tour on Thursday (4.30 p.m./ZDF and Eurosport) in Oberstdorf from the outsider role. On Tuesday (3 p.m.) trainers and jumpers will answer questions at an opening press conference in the Allgäu. Another media event is planned for the morning of the second rest day on January 2nd in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The team then travels on to Austria, where the second half of the tour takes place in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen.

National coach trusts Geiger to win the tour

Despite the complicated season so far, national coach Horngacher believes that Geiger can win the Four Hills Tournament. "He has to improve, but thank God it can go very quickly in ski jumping," said the 53-year-old Austrian.

Despite only one podium place for the German jumpers this winter by Geiger, Horngacher believes that the German team has the basics in place. "If you have endurance problems, it takes months. But that's the good thing about us: You can get into a completely different waterway within one or two jumps, then you're right at the front," he said. "It's our aim to get the athletes there. It doesn't have to be in Oberstdorf, it can develop over the tour."

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