Only two are faster: Hofer works his magic in Winterberg

Verena Hofer is increasingly establishing herself at the top of the World Cup standings this winter. In Winterberg, the athlete from Feldthurn raced onto the podium for the second time in her career.

10 January 2026

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When the TV camera caught Verena Hofer in the finish area, she roared with joy. The 24-year-old had just confidently defended her third place from the first run and even managed to edge out her competitor Lisa Schulte (4th/+0,430 seconds) by almost two hundredths of a second. However, it wasn't enough for another leap forward in the Veltins Ice Arena in Winterberg: Austrian Hannah Prock repeated her feat from the season opener, which had also taken place in North Rhine-Westphalia, and celebrated the second World Cup victory of her career ahead of Germany's Julia Taubitz (+0,087). A beaming Hofer completed the podium (+0,365).

Much like Tyrolean Prock, Hofer also shines at the right moment. In mid-December, the South Tyrolean made her World Cup podium debut in Park City, and almost exactly a month later she returned to the podium. So close to the Olympic Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo (February 6-22), her form couldn't be better.

Robatscher narrowly misses out on the top 10

Besides Hofer, three other South Tyrolean women competed in the singles event. Sandra Robatscher (11th/+0,984) missed the top 10 by just 14 thousandths of a second, while two places behind her was the young Antholz native Alexandra Oberstolz with another strong performance (+1,049). Nina Zöggeler, meanwhile, was eliminated after the first run.

Starting at 2:30 p.m. in Winterberg, Dominik Fischnaller, Alex Gufler, and Leon Felderer will compete in the second round. On Sunday, the doubles competitions (11:00 a.m./12:15 p.m.) and the team relay (1:50 p.m.) are on the program.