Just before the Four Hills: World champion Karl Geiger dropped from Germany’s World Cup team

Germany has made a high-profile change to its ski jumping World Cup roster shortly before the Four Hills Tournament (29 December–6 January). Former top jumper and five‑time world champion Karl Geiger has been removed from the World Cup team after a difficult start to the season.

According to head coach Stefan Horngacher, Geiger will not compete in the upcoming Klingenthal World Cup. Instead, he will use the next few days to refine his jumping technique together with coach Max Mechler. Taking Geiger’s place in the team is Luca Roth.

The decision follows a series of subpar results for Germany’s leaders: Andreas Wellinger recently missed the second round twice, while Geiger did not even make it through qualification. Horngacher noted that Wellinger, who he believes is closer to form than the results suggest, has completed additional training sessions in Ramsau with coach Andreas Mitter and is looking forward to Klingenthal, a hill where he has previously shown strong jumps.

The reshuffle comes just days before the prestigious Four Hills Tournament, heightening attention on how the German team will respond to its early-season struggles.