Hoffmann reaches the podium in windy “lottery” at Engelberg World Cup

The last men’s World Cup round before the Four Hills Tournament in Engelberg was dominated by highly changeable winds that repeatedly interrupted the competition. Despite the volatile conditions, Germany’s Felix Hoffmann secured third place with a strong second jump, while Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi edged Slovenia’s Domen Prevc for the win, ending Prevc’s recent victory streak.

Germany’s Philipp Raimund led after the first round, tied on points with Prevc, but ultimately slipped to fourth as Hoffmann overtook him with superior style marks and significant wind compensation. National coach Stefan Horngacher expressed satisfaction with the team’s form heading into the Tour, praising both Raimund and Hoffmann.

One of the day’s most striking moments came from Austria’s Stephan Embacher, who took advantage of a brief lull to fly 145 meters and set a new Engelberg hill record. However, a flawed landing yielded low style scores, and without positive wind points he did not take the lead; he finished 12th overall after two rounds.

Among the other Germans, Luca Roth ended up 28th after a weaker second jump, and Pius Paschke missed the cut for the final round. The competition underscored the difficulty of managing rapidly shifting head- and tailwinds, with gusts over 5 m/s, and featured multiple in-run length adjustments by the jury to maintain fairness and safety.