In his first appearance this summer, the record World Cup winner started with bib 1, jumped on 89.5 m and scored a total of 125.3 points. None of the following 68 athletes had a longer jump.

The second place went to Slovenia's Peter Prevc, with 87 m and 121.2 points. Norwegian Andreas Stjernen came in third with a jump on 86.5 m and 119.3 points.

Zografski suprises

Vladimir Zografski of Bulgaria finished on a surprisingly strong fourth place with 86 m and 117.3 points, Czech Roman Koudelka was fifth with 85 m and 116.5 points. It was also a successful afternoon for local hero Clemens Aigner, who qualified for the competition in sixth with 115.5 points.

Germans share place

Only 0.1 point behind, the two Germans Stephan Leyhe and Marinus Kraus tied for seventh. Kenshiro Ito, ninth with 114.7 points, and Jan Ziobro, tenth with 114.2 points, completed the Top 10.

French Vincent Descombes Sevoie gained some self-confidence with a good eleventh place, World Champion Rune Velta, Rok Justin, Maciej Kot and Andreas Wellinger came in 12th to 15th.

Behind world record holder Anders Fannemel, Janne Ahonen was the best Finn in 17th, Kilian Peier was the best of the Swiss team in 24th. Mikhail Maksimochkin finished 28th and was the only Russian athlete who could qualify for the competition, Davide Bresadola shared the 28th place with Maksimochkin.

The qualification had a dramatic end: As the final jumper, who needed to qualify, Peter Prevc threw the tied Sebastian Colloredo and Manuel Poppinger out of the competition. But then both benefited from the disqualification of Czech Jakub Janda, whose suit was not compliant to the rules.

Gangnes with the longest jump of the favorites

Kenneth Gangnes was the best of the pre-qualified athletes with 86.5 m. Japanese Kento Sakuyama, who already won this year's overall Grand Prix title, jumped on 85.5 m.

The competition in Hinzenbach starts on Sunday at 2:00 pm CET.

Source: fis-ski.com