Maciej Maciusiak's clear stance on Dawid Kubacki: 'He said it straight'

Maciej Maciusiak has given a clear verdict on Dawid Kubacki’s return to the World Cup roster and explained the team decisions at the Four Hills Tournament and beyond.

Speaking from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Maciusiak said Żyła was informed about the coaching staff’s decision to withdraw him for the upcoming Austrian events and that Żyła himself agreed he needed a short break and time at home to test equipment and regroup mentally. Physically, Żyła is fine and is expected to resume training soon.

Kubacki will take Żyła’s place. Maciusiak noted that Kubacki last competed in Engelberg and looked relaxed during his jumps there; most of his attempts were good enough for him to fight for top-30 finishes immediately.

The coach also reviewed the team's performances in Garmisch. He praised junior Kacper Tomasiak for an eighth-place finish and gave detailed technical notes on other Polish jumpers: Kacper’s left ski alignment, Maćek Kot’s need to build confidence jump by jump, Kamil Stoch’s improved qualification performance but weaker inrun position and Paweł (likely referring to Paweł Wąsek) who narrowly missed a result.

Looking ahead, Maciusiak said the plan is to travel to Zakopane and then Sapporo with the strongest possible squad. After that the team will approach the ski flying world championships and the Willingen event with a more individualized selection.

Source: Przegląd Sportowy Onet (correspondence from Garmisch-Partenkirchen).