Severin Freund, Kamil Stoch, Gregor Schlierenzauer - FIS
Kamil Stoch won the second World Cup competition in Lahti and took the lead in the overall World Cup with his fifth win this season. "I felt a little bit pain after the landing in the second round, but afterwards I sat down a little and fortunately everything seems to be okay. I think it won't be a problem for the next competitions. I like jumping in Kuopio and Trondheim and I'm looking forward to it. In the fight for the overall title I try to concentrate only on myself and on my job. I will just enjoy ski jumping."
With jumps on 131 m and 134.5 m and 281.0 points he came in 3.6 points ahead of Severin Freund. The German, who won the last two competitions, jumped on 131.5 m and 129.5 m. "After Kamil's second jump I knew I had to go really far. It wasn't enough to win today, but I can't complain about two wins and a second place in the last three competitions. I like the hill in Kuopio, it's again a typical Finnish hill."
Gregor Schlierenzauer came in third with 126 m and 130 m and 270.2 points and took his first podium result since January."The past weeks and days were not so easy for me. The level is extremely high and you always need luck with the wind conditions. Yesterday's win with the team was outstanding. Congratulations to Severin Freund and Kamil Stoch, they are in a remarkable shape. At the ski flying World Championships I just want to enjoy a few nice jumps."
Extremely strong Austrians
The Austrians showed an outstanding team performance and finished fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth. Stefan Kraft jumped on 126 m and 129.5 m and missed the podium by only 3.7 points. Andreas Kofler was fifth with 128.5 m and 129 m (263.3 points), a season best for him. Peter Prevc, who was only tenth after the first round with 126 m and moved up to sixth with 130.5 m (261.3 points) in the final, was followed by Michael Hayboeck and Thomas Diethart. Hayboeck scored a total of 259.5 points with his jumps on 126 m and 126.5 m, 4-Hills-Tournament winner Diethart came in 0.7 points behind his teammate with 126.5 m and 125.5 m.
Kasai competing again
Noriaki Kasai, who didn't take part in the individual competition on Friday and the team event on Saturday due to knee problems, was ninth with 128 m and 125 m (257.1 points). He was 0.7 points ahead of the best Finn, Anssi Koivuranta, who posted jumps on 130 m and 123 m.
Anders Bardal was only 24th after the first round, but with a great jump on 133.5 m he moved up to eleventh. He shared this place with Slovenia's Nejc Dezman. Behind Marinus Kraus and Simon Ammann, Antonin Hajek was the best Czech in 15th. Lauri Asikainen and Ville Larinto were 16th and 28th, their teammte Janne Ahonen failed to make the cut for the final round.
Ups and downs for Germany
There were ups and downs for the German team. Apart from Freund and Kraus, Michael Neumayer, Andreas Wellinger and Andreas Wank came in 19th, 20th and 22nd and were not among the best. Karl Geiger and Richard Freitag closely missed to qualify for the final. Besides the winner Kamil Stoch, Dawid Kubacki was the only Pole in the second round in 26th. Andreas Stjernen scored one World Cup point in 30th.
Exciting fight for overall title
With only five competitions left this season, the fight for the overall title gets more and more exciting. Kamil Stoch took back the yellow bib with 1131 points, Peter Prevc is now second with 1076 points. Severin Freund scored 907 points and is still in striking distance. Noriaki Kasai (835 points) and Gregor Schlierenzauer (775 points) only have a theoretical chance.
The next competition already takes place on Tuesday at 4:45 pm CET in Kuopio, Finland. The World Cup in Trondheim will be held Friday, only two days later it's time for the event on the legendary Holmenkollen in Oslo.
