The incredible German success streak continues also on the second day in Ramsau am Dachstein. 

Again, Team Germany took all the available podium positions with Eric Frenzel claiming his third victory, Fabian Rießle finishing 0.8 seconds later on his 26th birthday and youngster Vinzenz Geiger claimed his career-first podium 23.4 seconds after Frenzel. 

Ramsau proved to be a good place for local hero Mario Seidl. After sensationally winning the jumping round at this World Cup debut here in 2012, the 24-year-old repeated the feat today with a jump of 97 metres and 129.5 points. German youngster Vinzenz Geiger keeps getting better and better and captured the second intermediate position today after showing 95.5 metres (127.1 p.). Eric Frenzel did not have the über-jump from yesterday’s competition but still ranked third with 93 metres and 125.2 points.

For the cross-country race, this meant a 10-second head start for Mario Seidl on Geiger and 17 seconds on Eric Frenzel. Fabian Rießle lurked on an intermediate fourth position and had only 23 seconds to make up to the head of the field, making him into the big favourite for the race. But today, Norway’s Olympic Champion Jørgen Graabak was within striking distance with a time disadvantage of 41 seconds after jumping 92 metres. Yesterday’s winner Johannes Rydzek had 55 second to make up and was starting from position 16.

The race and the fight for the top results was an affair of six athletes: Frenzel, Rießle, Geiger, Akito Watabe, Mario Seidl and Espen Andersen formed a group and worked together for long stretches of the race, with especially Frenzel and Rießle exchanging the leading work. This strategy paid off for the six and the fast pursuers Graabak and Rydzek were not able to come closer than 30 seconds. 

Going into the last lap, Frenzel and Rießle had managed to tear a gap to the other four athletes of the leading group and so it was clear that the top two results would be going to Germany again. Frenzel used all his experience and adapted his strategy from yesterday to stay more with the group and save some energy which helped him to beat excellent finisher Fabian Rießle on the finish straight. The birthday boy was not disappointed for too long, though, and went home with two second places under his belt.

Team youngster Vinzenz Geiger is in stellar shape at the moment and beat local hero Mario Seidl in a finish line sprint, making the German glory day complete for the second time this weekend and the third time this season. Akito Watabe claimed rank five and Espen Andersen did not have enough energy left to fight off Johannes Rydzek and Jørgen Graabak in the end but claimed another Top Ten result with rank eight. 

Source: fis-ski.com