After the first round, Granerud had already led on the Riesenbakken with a 235.5 m leap in front of world record holder Kraft, who had flown more runs to the day’s maximum distance of 239.5 m. In the decision, 227.5 m was not enough for the Salzburg player to intercept the Norwegian (222.0). Granerud finally won 6.1 points ahead of Kraft and 34.8 points ahead of Tschofenig.
In the final, the Carinthian jumped from tenth place to the podium with the best distance of 229.5 m. Michael Hayböck dropped from fourth to sixth place. Manuel Fettner was 14th and Jan Hörl was 24th. Maximilian Steiner was 36th and missed qualifying for the second round.
Kraft second in Vikersund
The Norwegian Halvor Egner Granerud prevailed in front of Stefan Kraft and Daniel Tschofenig in the first ski flying event in Vikersund on Saturday and thus extended his overall lead ahead of Kraft in the Raw Air Tour.
249 m test flight as an adrenaline rush for strength
In the test run, Kraft was unable to stand a splendid 249 m flight and was therefore less energized because of his strong competition and more because of the test flight. “That was definitely the craziest day of my career in terms of emotions and the adrenaline rush. After the first jump, where I thought, I’ll fly a world record again. I thought I’d break both my feet, but luckily nothing happened,” said the 29-year-old.
“When the adrenaline kicks in, let’s see how I’m doing physically. As of now it’s still good. I definitely need a longer physio session today,” said Kraft in an ORF interview after the competition. Despite the moment of shock, he delivered again. “I’m proud of myself and super happy with second place.”
While Kraft landed on the podium for the 13th time this season, it was the third podium finish of his career for Tschofenig. “I speculated with a lot, but it was never inevitable that I would jump for the podium,” said the 20-year-old happily. “I don’t know myself exactly how I managed to do it. It’s terrific.”
Granerud pays respects to Kraft
But Granerud was unbeatable for him and also for Kraft. After the two Kulm events, the 26-year-old also won the third flying competition of the season. Overall, it was his twelfth win of the winter. “It was amazing. I’m very happy with my two jumps,” he said in the FIS winner interview.
Granerud fixes victory in Vikersund
With a flight of 222 meters, the Norwegian Halvor Egner Granerud secured victory in Vikersund ahead of the Austrians Stefan Kraft and Daniel Tschofenig.
“But I am also very impressed by Stefan, what he has achieved. After his fall in the test jump, to go back up the hill and deliver it like that. That’s really impressive”, Granerud paid respect to Kraft. “I think it’s generally special to win in Vikersund, for a Norwegian it’s even more special. I have so many memories here, it’s a special day.”
On Sunday in Vikersund, the qualification (2:30 p.m.) and the second competition (4:00 p.m., live on ORF1) are still on the program for the raw-air finale. Going into the final day, Kraft is 28.5 points behind Granerud in the raw air standings. Third-placed Slovenian Anze Lanisek is already more than 100 points behind.