If it were a team game, it would be a drama. Kubacki did not have to say anything. A face was enough

If anyone thought that Friday’s trial round and qualification for the large hill competition would bring peace, he would not be happy. There are also no exceptional reasons for optimism.

A glimmer of hope in Stoch. Eighth place and best jump on a large hill

The only positive thing about Friday is the qualifying jump. While still in the trial series, the Polish champion was doing a lot of work, which was explained on Twitter by the expert of the Sport.pl LIVE program, Krzysztof Leja. Stoch attacked the threshold very aggressively, so he landed only at the 116th meter.

But it was really good in qualifying. High flying position, 128 meters and eighth place. The competitor himself said that it was his best attempt on the large hill in Zhangjiakou, which he still has problems with.

– This jump gave me much more satisfaction than the previous ones and poured out a lot of optimism. He was with great energy, I was short of speed. Still struggling with the inrun position -. And he explained where the running problems were. – He is neither flat, like in Bischofshofen, nor fully inclined, as we are used to at the World Cup. It is something in between and it is difficult to adapt to it – pointed the jumper.

Poles would only be seventh. May the plan come true. “I’m afraid of him”

The remaining Poles took distant positions – (125.5 meters) he was 22nd, Piotr ¯y³a (120 meters) was 27th, and Paweł Wąsek (117.5 meters) was 36th. This is especially worrying in the context of the team – Poles would only be seventh in the overall qualifying results. Kubacki’s face – grimaced, with a distinct sigh – said it all.

Forecasts from qualifications do not always have to be translated into what will happen in the competition. Friday’s results do not predict what will happen on Saturday. Although they are not optimistic, the jumpers seem to be well-disposed to fight in the competition. – I have a plan that I am afraid of it myself – he laughed in an interview for Eurosport. Kubacki said that he was happy with the jump from the trial series, and only Wąsek seemed slightly dimmed, and it is strongly skewed in flight. May all these problems disappear for the next few days and may the plans come true.

The great return of the Norwegians. The Russians continue to surprise

The Norwegians – the biggest losers in the competition on the normal hill, are also counting on the implementation of ambitious plans. They were in a very weak position there: Marius Lindvik was ranked the best, he moved up from 17th place after the first round to seventh after the second. Now he will be the biggest favorite for the medal as he won the qualification after a great jump of 135 meters. Halvor Egner Granerud, who flew 133.5 meters, also aspires to this group.

The biggest sensation from the previous weekend did not disappoint either: the Russians. – It’s not a coincidence. The normal hill in Zhangjiakou was perfectly reproduced at home thanks to the facility in Tchaikovsky, but that’s not all. Without a lot of pressure, trained and giving their best athletes can fight for great success on the large hill. Why not? – said Richard Schallert, a former coach of the Russian national team, who currently deals with the club of Ryoyu Kobayashi, Tsuchiya Home Ski Club.

So far, he’s right. 136.5 meters by Dania³a Sadriejewa (hill record), 130 meters by Yevgeny Klimov or 124.5 meters by Mikhail Nazarov are very promising results.

Looking towards other representations – Markus Eisenbichler also seems to return to form. The German jumped 129 meters in qualifying, took sixth place and instead of the most popular expression of anger on his face so far, he showed a smile and tightly clenched his fist. He will be dangerous.

The competition on the large hill is scheduled for Saturday at 12:00. One hour earlier, the trial series will begin. Live coverage on Sport.pl and in the Sport.pl LIVE mobile application.