– In general, it was a disaster. It’s a strong start to the season, Halvor Egner Granerud tells NRK.
This is how last year’s World Cup winner described the Norwegian’s achievements on Saturday. In the first race of the year, he finished sixteenth, becoming the best Norwegian.
According to Backgall I’m downhill, Facebook– Along with Viaplay commentator Peter Tenstad, he is the weakest Norwegian in the men’s World Cup race since Willingen in the 2013/14 season.
Among the top 15 athletes in Saturday’s race were 12 athletes from Germany and Austria. Among the top five were only Austrians and Germans.
On Sunday, there were four Germans and four Austrians in the top ten, with Austrian Stefan Kraft taking the win. Granerud was the best Norwegian in the tenth place share.
– Isn’t that a little? Whisper? No, it’s fair play. It’s solid. They are ahead of the rest both technically and in terms of equipment“, Granerud tells NRK about German-Austrian hegemony.
Austrian winner Stefan Kraft, center, celebrates on the podium with Austrian Han Hörl, second place, on the left, and German Andreas Fellinger, third place.
Photo: AP
– How much do you think the new rules have to do with jumping the way they do here?
-I think he has a lot to say. “A lot of ski jumping is now taking over, so if an entire team is jumping better than the rest, it’s often because they’ve discovered something clever,” says Granerud.
-I tried sending some long looks at the “exit street” there, but it’s the same thing. Nothing I saw immediately looked completely different. This bothers me.
33-year-old Pius Paschke from Germany was one of those surprised. He came in second place, and with it the first podium of his career.
– I can only speak for myself and say that the new rules are useful for me, Paschke tells NRK.
NRK jump expert: – It’s too early to conclude
The rule changes before the start of the season, among other things:
- Previously, athletes’ weight was measured by wearing a jumpsuit. Now they will be weighed without clothes.
- Previously, athletes’ height was measured manually. Now it will be measured using a 3D scanner.
Magnus Brevig, equipment manager for the Norwegian team, explains that the athletes in the 3D scan stand in their underwear, while rotating with space between their legs.
Magnus Brevig (right) with coach Alexander Stockl on the coach’s podium.
Photo: Geir Olsen/NTB
– Then you get an avatar, and then the controller manually sets a point from which the device calculates the distance from the ground to the bottom. This will be the goal of your move, Brevig tells NRK.
These measurements are important because they determine the size of equipment that can be used, whether skis or wetsuits.
– Let’s say you got 80cm in step. Then you should wear the suit at the top of your step counter, 83. The fact that you have to have three over the top is a new fact, while leg length should be equal to your step measurement, Brevig says.
– It takes several weekends before you conclude that the new rules have anything to say about the outcome. The Germans and Austrians had a chance this weekend, but I think so You will really see changes next weekend in terms of who is dominant.
the says Johan Remen Evensen, NRK’s jumping expert, who compares the whole thing to a Formula 1 driver changing cars.
– A Formula 1 driver also needs time to learn the new car and make it work the way you want. This also applies to jumpers. The new rules change the airfoil and the way the air is struck during flight. Then you have to change the technology to match your existing equipment.
Former world record holder Johan Remen Evensen.
Image: NTP
He believes it is interesting that small countries, with smaller resources and support systems, can better assert themselves through new changes.
– However, the Austrians have been good for a long time, while Germany can always be counted on at the top, despite a poor season last year, says Evensen.
Strength: – Normal to continue
The rule changes were presented at a meeting of the Islamic Salvation Front in the spring.
The show jumping team’s sporting director, Klaes Brede Braathen, believes the Norwegian team should also be able to compete this season.
– If they did a good job at the time and made things a little better for themselves, and they’ve actually got good results now, it’s just a matter of taking your hat off and respecting the way they work. We then have to try to become a little better, he stresses.
Sports director Clas Brede Bråthen was impressed by the competitors’ jumping.
Image: NTP
Saturday and Sunday’s winner, Stefan Kraft, says it’s common to study which equipment is better.
– Last year we saw a lot of Halvor and what he was doing. You look forward to the good of nations and follow what they do. It’s common. I’m not doing anything special, I guess. I’m in a good mood and this is one of my favorite slopes. “I’m very happy with the start,” Kraft tells NRK.
– We have to take a look
– They’ve come up with something. Germany was only a short flight away from Lillehammer, then it didn’t look as good as it does now. I’ll admit it frankly. It was interesting to try to find out what they discovered, Tandy tells NRK.
Daniel Andre Tandy has made it clear that the Norwegian national team has a lot to do before the World Cup finals in Lillehammer next weekend.
Image: NTP
Alexander Stöckel was clearly disappointed after Saturday’s race, and announced action.
– We have to look at what it is. Whether it’s on a suit or on skis or bindings. We’ll take some pictures and analyze the TV broadcast to find out what it really is. But it’s a combination, because you can see that the group skates very well technically, he tells NRK.
Granerud believes that Norway only became a little closer to the Germans and Austrians from Saturday to Sunday.
– We have a very dedicated support team that works like clockwork. “I felt better technically and in terms of equipment for me today, and I also hope it continues,” Granerud told NRK after the race on Sunday.
Norwegian jumping is weak
It’s been a particularly frustrating weekend for Johann Andre Forfang. He finished fifth and first in qualifying for the two races, but finished 33rd on Saturday and 26th on Sunday in the same two races.
Johan Andre Forfang didn’t do the right thing in this weekend’s race.
Image: NTP
Furfang says he has jumped “the best jumps of his life” in recent days with the new regulations.
-So that’s not why it doesn’t suit me. It is very difficult to know what is happening. I don’t have an immediate recipe to correct this, so it’s very frustrating, he tells NRK.
This week the jumpers are going to Lillehammer. You can watch the qualifications and races for both women and men on NRK.
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