Jumping festival in front of empty stands: This is how the Four Hills Tournament works

Empty stands instead of dense crowds, distance instead of a party atmosphere is the corona-related motto before the ski jumping peak around the turn of the year. Here are the most important questions and answers before the start in the Allgäu. How does the tour work? 4 stations, one overall winner: At the Four Hills Tournament, the results of the four competitions in Germany and Austria are added together. If you want to win the tour and receive the Golden Eagle as the winner on January 6th, you can hardly afford to make a mistake. The competition mode on the tour differs from that in the World Cup. Unlike there, there are 25 knockout duels in the first round of the tour. The 25 winners and the five best losers (lucky losers) move into the final of the best 30 jumpers.

At the beginning of each competition, 50 jumpers take part. The result of the qualification is used to determine the pairings for the duels. The best in the qualification competes against the 50th place, the second meets the jumper who took 49th place in the qualification. The daily winners will be determined in two rounds in which the points will be added up. Where do you jump? Traditionally, the tour starts in Oberstdorf and ends in Bischofshofen, Austria. In between, the New Year's competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the competition on Bergisel in Innsbruck are on the program. There are usually around 100 fans at the four stations. This time, because of Corona, there are only a few photo figures that the organizers want to put up in the stands in Oberstdorf. Who are the favorites? The top favorite is the Norwegian overall leader Halvor Egner Granerud. The 24-year-old recently won the World Cup five times in a row and is the one to beat. For example from Markus Eisenbichler: The German has already shown with two individual successes this season that he can defeat Granerud. “Eisei”, who also won the title at the German championships in October, has been jumping consistently at a very high level for some time now. He is the biggest candidate to succeed Sven Hannawald as the last German tour winner 19 years ago.

The Norwegian Halvor Egner Granerud is the favorite. © APA/afp / FABRICE COFFRINI

A big unknown is ski flying world champion Karl Geiger, whose form he is in after being quarantined due to a positive corona test is unclear. He was only released from the quarantine, which has been ongoing since December 16, on Sunday.

The favorites also include the Pole Kamil Stoch, who has already won the tour twice. “He is on the rise,” said German national coach Stefan Horngacher. “He will play a pretty big role on the tour.” Last year’s winner Dawid Kubacki from Poland is also expected. The Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi, who dominated two years ago, is clearly lagging behind. Are there any South Tyroleans involved? There will be no South Tyrolean jumpers at the start of the tour in Oberstdorf. Alex Insam from Val Gardena is entering the Four Hills Tournament with qualification in Innsbruck. The 23-year-old will also be at the start in Bischofshofen (SportNews reported ). Which Azzurri are competing? As the only starter for the Italian team, Giovanni Bresadola will tackle the tour from the start. The 19-year-old from Cles am Nonsberg is expected to compete in all stages of the Four Hills Tournament. At the end of November, the Trentino native scored his first World Cup points in 23rd place in the jumping competition in Ruka, Finland. Bresadola also impressed with 24th place at the Ski Flying World Championships in Planice, Slovenia in mid-December. Apart from Bresadola and Insam, no Azzurri are nominated for stages of the Four Hills Tournament. Where can I watch the tour on TV? As in previous years, in 2020/21 ARD and ZDF will share the broadcasts of the competitions and qualifications. ZDF reports on the opening competition on Tuesday in Oberstdorf and the final on January 6th in Bischofshofen. ARD will broadcast the New Year's competition and the competition in Innsbruck on January 3rd. All competitions and qualifications can also be seen on Eurosport. What can the jumpers win? The overall tour winner not only receives the golden eagle, but also a bonus of 20 Swiss francs (approx. 000 euros). The winners of the qualifying competitions will be rewarded with 18 euros. In addition, the World Federation Fis pays its usual World Cup bonuses for the individual competitions. The winner of the day receives 447 francs (approx. 5000 euros), and there are also tiered bonuses for places two to 10.

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Jumping festival in front of empty stands: This is how the Four Hills Tournament works

One thing is certain even before the first jump: the 69th Four Hills Tournament will be one of the most extraordinary editions in the history of the ski jump spectacle.

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