The number one favorite is Stefan Kraft. The Austrian has already won the traditional and prestigious tournament in the 2014/15 season and started the current World Cup series with four wins. He was also the best in Engelberg before Christmas and is definitely leading in the general classification.
The Germans, who have waited more than 20 years to win the TCS, are hoping for a breakthrough. In the 2001/02 edition, Sven Hannavald was the best. Two years ago, Carl Geiger entered the World Championship as the leader, but finished in fourth place. Now Geiger is fourth in the overall ranking and has been overtaken by two of his compatriots – Andreas Wellinger and Pius Paschke.
Ryoyu Kobayashi, who won the TCS in the 2018/19 and 2021/22 seasons, will attack from the second row. At the current world championship, the Japanese man stood on the podium only once – he was third in Klingenthal.
The Norwegians are in a similar situation to the Poles, although not as bad and their performance is below expectations. Halvor Egner Granerud, who defends the Crystal Ball and the Golden Eagle, is only 13th in the World Cup.
42-year-old Swiss Simon Amann will appear in TCS for the 25th time. Only the legendary Japanese Noriaki Kasai has more starts in this event – 28. The upcoming edition will be the 19th of Stoch's career.
Since the 1979/80 season, the TCS, known as the Grand Slam of skiing or the cycling equivalent of the Tour de France, has been included in the World Cup classification. The first Polish winner was Adam Malis in 2001.
In connection with the 45th edition, the KO system was introduced, in which 25 pairs are created according to the qualifying results (according to the key: 1st out of 50, 2nd out of 49, etc.). Each pair winner and five “lucky losers”, i.e. the players with the most points among the losing pairs, will advance to the finals.
Four Hills 72nd Tournament Program:
1st competition – Oberstdorf (Germany)
December 28, Thursday
14.00 – official training
16.30 – qualification
December 29, Friday
15.45 – test series
17.15 – the first competition series
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2nd competition – Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany)
December 31, Sunday
11.45 – official training
13.45 – qualification
Monday, January 1, 2022
12.30 – trial series
14.00 – the first competition series
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3rd competition – Innsbruck (Austria)
January 2, Tuesday
11.15 – official training
13:30 – qualifier
January 3, Wednesday
12.00 – trial series
13:30 – the first competition series
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4th competition – Bischofshofen (Austria)
January 5, Friday
14.15 – official training
16.30 – qualification
January 6, Saturday
15.00 – trial series
16.30 – the first competition series
jb, PAP