Kobajasi Rjoju also won the third stop in Bischofshofen, which was postponed by a day due to the weather and held in Bischofshofen instead of Innsbruck, although not being the leader after the first series, Marius Lindvik could not perform his second jump perfectly.
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| Kobagassi Rjugo: Three out of three! (Photo: FIS) |
Because of the strong winds, the Bischofshofen racers will double, as the FIS experts again after 2008 chose to replace the weather-delayed Innsbruck stop on the fourth fences, where they will race twice in two days – but unfortunately also still without spectators.
The news came before qualifying, as Polish defending champion Kamil Stoch won the 2018 Grand Slam, dropped out of the race and traveled home to a quiet training camp to get fit.
The interesting thing about Wednesday’s fence – and the difference compared to more recent race sites – is that although the telemark is easier to implement due to the larger area, timing the jump is more difficult because the fence table is long and flat. The weather turned out to be more wonderful than it was on Tuesday, and the jury released the first players from the 17th seat, but later, due to the increased winds, they took the field to the penalty area …
Before going into detail about what happened in the intro, I can’t leave Philip Aschenwald’s performance without a word. The Austrian rider was only 29th in the World Cup rankings, but finished 11th in the morning qualifiers, then finished 5th after the first series – and eventually finished 11th. All this so he could barely see his left eye due to a rare but long-term illness reversible. to heal. In the life of snowboarding, this makes it difficult to prepare, to put it mildly. For now, he’s racing in a special contact lens and, as he said, “sees it again in high definition.”
Wednesday was not the day for the Slovenes. In the World Cup standings alone, Anzi Lanisic, who is in the top ten, could not beat the duo and said goodbye in the first round. After two stops, Louvreau Koss, who finished third in the quad race complex, jumped well, flew up to 136 metres, but arrived uncertainly, fell forward and fell. Fortunately, the crossbar was freed from his right leg, so he was unhurt, but he got very few points and was knocked out of the fight for the ultimate success. Not so from the race—the longest jump in the first series was 137.5 metres, and since 95 percent of it was completed by Aries, he’s been able to jump in the second series as the 31st rider. However, despite flying 138.5 metres, he was only twenty-five due to his fall.
And the Germans could not be happier, because they have been waiting for success for 20 years and since the Grand Slam of Sven Hannawald, which they had a real chance through Karl Geiger. However, the past tense can only change for the foreseeable future because a 42-point delay from fourth place cannot be brought about in the present in the race.
After the last jumps of the first series, hope has shone in front of Marius Lindvik and those who love the sport are waiting for the exciting fourth race: the Norwegian rider scored 5.7 points more than Kobagasi Rjugo. On the second lap the Japanese jumped earlier and held the distance mark at 137.5 metres, when most of the riders also had trouble keeping their balance. Lindvik didn’t jump badly, but he wasn’t superbly good, and at his current level, Copagas can only be defeated with a truly exceptional performance, winning on day one in Bischofchofen.
In the history of the quad race since 1952, a total of three people have managed to win the Grand Slam championship. Kobajasi is close enough to accomplish something no one else could: win twice on all four stops. It’s scary to think about… and it could easily become a reality on Final Thursday.
Four-day competition, Bischofshofen
1. Kobajasi Rjoju (Japan) 291.3 points (137 metres, 137.5), 2. Lindvik (Norway) 286.6 (137.5, 135.5), 3. Granerud (Norway) 282.4 (135.5, 135.5). Quad race condition after 3 stops: Kobajasi Rjoju 884.5, 2. Lindvik 866.6, 3. Granerud 845.8
