Four Hills Tour Oberstdorf qualifying: Tschofenig third, Prevc wins

Title holder Daniel Tschofenig returned to form just in time for qualification for the Four Hills Tournament opener in Oberstdorf. The Carinthian Austrian finished third behind dominant favourite Domen Prevc and Germany’s Philipp Raimund.

Austria had multiple strong showings: Jan Hörl took 5th and Stephan Embacher 6th. Stefan Kraft, last year’s Oberstdorf winner, faltered to 33rd on the Schattenbergschanze but still advanced comfortably to the 50-man main event.

Other Austrians through included Manuel Fettner (13th), Jonas Schuster (16th) and Maximilian Ortner (24th). World Cup overall leader Prevc soared 139.5 m to win by more than ten points. Tschofenig jumped 131.5 m and finished 11.3 points behind the Slovenian. Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi, who had beaten Prevc in Engelberg recently, managed only 130.5 m and placed 7th. A notable casualty was Germany’s Karl Geiger, who finished 53rd and missed qualification.

ÖSV sporting director Mario Stecher remained optimistic about Austrian chances for the overall Tour victory despite recent mixed World Cup form. “We’ve been performing below our value in the last three or four jumps. With Stefan Kraft back to his usual strength, we can be in the mix. Prevc is a big favourite, but I think we can have a say,” Stecher said.