The first Japanese tour winner in 21 years?

Ryoyu Kobayashi outdid his older brother Junshiro as well as all other jumpers this year and won four of the seven competitions this season. The 22-year-old manages the transition from the jump to the flight phase perfectly. On his third tour, the discovery of the season wants to follow in the footsteps of Kazuyoshi Funaki. The Olympic champion was the only Japanese to have triumphed in the classic event in 1997/98.

However, Domen Prevc may serve as a cautionary tale for Kobayashi. The Slovenian, who has a much more risky flying style, failed as a four-time season winner two years ago because of the tour favorite role and the hype surrounding him. He hasn't won since.

Will there be a Pole's third win in a row? The Pole Zyla has also missed the feeling of victory for a long time. The 31-year-old has recently achieved four World Cup podiums in a row, but his only success in the World Cup so far was almost six years ago. Kamil Stoch, currently third in the World Cup behind Zyla, is number one in the Polish team. The Olympic champion is still missing success in the World Cup winter, but he comes to Oberstdorf as a newly crowned national champion and with the self-confidence of the tour winner of the last two years.

“With him you know that when day X comes, he can flip the switch and then take another step forward,” coach Stefan Horngacher explained before the start of the season. “King Kamil”, who achieved the Grand Slam (victories at all four stages) in 2017/18, could equal the Norwegian Björn Wirkola’s only “hat trick” (1966/67 to 1968/69) with another overall victory. “I try to stay calm. “I’m happy with the situation I’m in now,” explained the World Cup winner. Norway and Germany are hungry for a tour victory Norway's coach Alexander Stöckl had made winning the tournament one of his big goals before the season. If the first success is to be achieved under the Tyrolean Olympic champion coach (most recently Anders Jacobsen in 2006/07), a major improvement is required. Johann Andre Forfang is at least the winner of the season and, like Robert Johansson, the top 8 jumper in the World Cup.

The Germans are chasing an overall success at the first highlight of the season since 2001/02 (Sven Hannawald). Karl Geiger from Oberstdorf recently presented himself in top form as the winner of the dress rehearsal in Engelberg, and Stephan Leyhe also jumped well. But both of them lack the routine to deal with the hustle and bustle of touring. Andreas Wellinger has so far not shown himself in the form of the vice world champion and normal hill Olympic champion and Richard Freitag was far behind. Alex Insam on his second full tour At last year's Four Hills Tournament, Alex Insam started at all four stations for the first time, after only competing in Innsbruck in 2016/17. The Wolkensteiner survived the qualification three times and was therefore able to qualify for the competition. However, Insam never made it to the final round of the best 30. From the 21-year-old's point of view, this should change on this tour. The program of the 67th Four Hills Tournament: Opening competition in Oberstdorf: Qualification: Saturday December 29.12th (16.30 o'clock) Competition: Sunday December 30.12th (16.30 o'clock)

New Year's jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen: Qualification: Monday 31.12. (14 o'clock) Competition: Tuesday 01.12. (14 o'clock)

Bergisel jumping in Innsbruck: Qualification: Thursday January 03.01rd (14 o'clock) Competition: Friday 04.01. (14 o'clock)

Epiphany jumping in Bischofshofen: Qualification: Saturday December 05.01th (17 o'clock) Competition: Sunday December 06.01th (17 o'clock)

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The first Japanese tour winner in 21 years?

The 67th Four Hills Tournament begins in Oberstdorf this weekend. The top favorites are Ryoyu Kobayashi, Kamil Stoch and Piotr Zyla. The Wolkensteiner Alex Insam is taking part in a full tour for the second time.

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