The ski jumpers Eva Pinkelnig and Chiara Kreuzer won the World Cup premiere of the Super Team competition in Zao in a sovereign manner. After three rounds on Saturday, the red-white-red duo was clearly ahead of Norway and Germany (+42.8 points) with a superior lead of 35.3 points. On Sunday (8.00 a.m./live ORF 1) there is another individual competition on the program in Japan.
“Incredibly cool. We’re a bit speechless, even if we usually talk a lot,” said Pinkelnig. “It was a brutally strong team effort from both of us. Many thanks to the team, we completed the job and a maiden victory is something special.” Kreuzer was “really happy” and spoke of a “super cool” format. “We were a great team, everything worked great and was stress-free.”
The overall World Cup leaders Pinkelnig and Kreuzer had already landed on the podium on Friday in second and third place. The next day, the two roommates continued their performance in foggy conditions and difficult wind conditions. Pinkelnig confirmed her outstanding form with only strong jumps (93.5/91.0/94.5 m), the 34-year-old from Vorarlberg had recently jumped onto the podium seven times in a row. Kreuzer excelled in the second round with the day’s highest distance of 97.0 m, in the final the 25-year-old added 94.0 m.
Head coach Harald Rodlauer was also very satisfied. “This premiere victory means a lot. It was a top performance by both athletes, jumps at a high level,” said the coach. He’s happy for the whole team. “You don’t have much time between rounds, the material has to be prepared once more. That was a top performance by everyone together.”
In the super team competition, two athletes per nation started. The best eight of twelve duos qualified for the third round. The men will hold a competition in this format for the first time in mid-February in Lake Placid.
