The legendary Relief without mercy. “Poland is really weak.” He pointed to a new star

Five out of six Poles passed through the qualifying session in Oberstdorf on Tuesday. The 60th Andrzej Stękała was eliminated. Jakub Wolny did the best, taking 13th place. Piotr Żyła was 24th, Dawid Kubacki was 28th, Kamil Stoch was 37th, and Paweł Wąsek was 46th.

In the first series of the competition played in the KO duels system, pairs with the participation of Poles will look like this:

• Piotr Żyła – Evgienij Klimow
• Dawid Kubacki – Manuel Fettner
• Kamil Stoch – Prices Prevc
• Jakub Wolny – Stephan Leyhe
• Paweł Wąsek – Kilian Peier

“But can Stocha really jump?”

The most interesting pair, maybe even the entire first series, are Stoch and Prevc. – Kamil Stoch or Cene Prevc? It is difficult to predict. I think that this KO duel will be won by Stoch, if he shows a good jump, not like in training and qualifying. But is he capable of jumping well? Primoż Ulaga wonders.

– Poland is really weak this season. You must have made many mistakes in the preparation. It must have happened in the summer. I can see that your jumpers’ legs are working badly – says the 1988 Calgary Olympic vice-champion.

The coaching staff of our representation strongly disagrees with such opinions. – We discuss all the time. He [Harald Pernitsch – nasz trener przygotowania fizycznego] he says that the players are fine. He knows, players know, I know that he has no motor or physical problem. Everything is worked out as it should be. The beginning on the hill was just bad and we thought about it too much. And we must not panic –

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Our trainers believe that the reasons for unsuccessful starts lie primarily in technical errors and problems with the equipment.

– Yes, technically Polish jumpers look bad. But it all happens because of poor physical preparation. This is the consequence – argues Ulaga.

– I do not see any Polish team in the leaders of the Tournament, even Stoch will find it difficult to be there. I think that every single place in the top 6 of the competition will be a great success – he adds.

“Yes, Cene has those special skis”

The same applies to the Slovenes. It was a disappointment to be eliminated in the qualifications of Timi Zajc (he was only 55th). The best Slovene – Cene Prevc – took 14th place on Tuesday. Interestingly, he did well in qualifying, even though he was battling a very menacing and strange-looking fall just ahead of them.

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In Oberstdorf, a discussion immediately arose about the safety of those jumpers who use the new, flat (without upward curved tips) Slatnara skis.

“I don’t know all the details, but yes, Cene has these special skis,” says Ulaga. – He was definitely lucky that in this situation he did not suffer a serious injury – adds the former jumper.

We don’t have our own scythe. “It could really be a star”

The Slovenes are counting on a surprise today in the pair Cene Prevc – Kamil Stoch, they also believe in good jumps of Anze Lanisk’s 15th and Peter Prevc’s 17th. But they also have someone who, not only their media, calls the 4-Hills-Tournament black horse.

22-year-old Lovro Kos was only 21 in qualifying, but earlier he won his first training session and was third in the second round. – It could really be our new star. Unfortunately, I do not see anyone like that in the Polish team – says Ulaga. – But in jumping it can change quickly. It is possible that next winter you will find a young star at your place – we are comforted by the world vice-champion in flights from 1988 and generally one of the best jumpers in the world in the 1980s (Ulaga won 9 World Cup competitions, stood on the podium 23 times, in winter 1987/1988 finished third in the overall standings, finished sixth in the 1983/1984 and 1985/1986 seasons, while the seventh was in the winter of 1986/87).

Kobayashi, Geiger i Peier

According to Ulaga, TCS will be won by Ryoyu Kobayashi. – He’s just the best at the moment. Both its power and technique are very impressive – justifies the Slovene. – But in jumping anything can happen, and there are more strong players behind the Japanese. It is primarily Karl Geiger. I really like his jumps. I also like Kilian Peier and I consider him a candidate to fight to win the Tournament – ends Ulaga.