Next win for Kamil Stoch
Kamil Stoch earned his second win in a row with a great jump in the final round. The Pole was followed by Richard Freitag of Germany and Daiki Ito of Japan.
The World Champion from Predazzo was third after his first jump on 131 m, close behind Robert Kranjec and Richard Freitag. In the final the Pole showed an impressive jump on 140 m and could capture his second World Cup win this season with a total of 280.4 points.
"It was a very good competition for me, of course I'm happy now, although I felt better yesterday. The first jump was good, but I was a bit late at the take-off and so I didn't fly so far. The second one was really, really good and I enjoyed it. It was a very nice day for the whole team. Now I'm looking forward to the Holmenkollen and I'm optimistic. I'll do my best and then we'll see what the future brings."
The second place went to Germany’s Richard Freitag, who missed the fourth win of his career by only 1.7 points. The 22-year old landed at 132 m and 136 m, that earned him 278.7 points. With his performance Freitag proved that the 28th place in Kuopio didn't show his actual level of jumping. "The second jump was really good, but I made a small mistake and so even more would have been possible. But I'm pretty satisfied, both jumps were okay. I don't think about the Nation's Cup that much, when it shall happen, it happens. Everything's very close."
Daiki Ito was one of the heroes on Friday. The Japanese was seventh after he posted a jump on 130 m in the first round. With 135.5 m in the final he could move up to the third place and proved that he should always be reckoned with at the Granasen-hill. He won last year and achieved another podium result this year. "I made a small mistake in my second jump, but still it worked pretty well for me. All in all I'm very satisfied with today's result. My shape got better again shortly before the World Championships in Italy and since then it's going very well for me", told Ito.
It could have been a perfect day for Goran Janus and his Slovenian team, but Robert Kranjec, who was in the lead after the first, could not defend his place with a jump on 132 m and came in fifth. The 31-year-old ski flying World Champion was followed by his teammates Peter Prevc and Jurij Tepes. Three athletes of Slovenia showed a strong performance on Friday evening, but the other four could not even qualify for the final. Anze Semenic (34th), Andraz Pograjc (42nd), Matic Benedik (45th) and Matjaz Pungertar (49th) will have one more chance to gain World Cup points before they take part in their home events in Planica.
The German team could be satisfied with its performance in Trondheim. Besides Richard Freitag, who achieved a podium result, also two of his teammates were in the Top 10. Michael Neumayer did well at the Granasen-hill already in the qualification round and proved his good shape again. With his second jump on 136 m and a total of 271.4 points the veteran could move up from the fifth place to fourth. Severin Freund, who scored 258.4 points with his 129 and 130 m, completed the Top 10. Andreas Wellinger (20th) and Andreas Wank (22nd) could also score World Cup points.
No podium result for Norway
In front of 14 000 fans the Norwegian athletes could not achieve a very good result. Anders Jacobsen was the only athlete of Norway, who finished among the best ten jumpers, with his 130.5 and 132 m and a total of 265.4 points. Anders Bardal posted two consistent jumps on 128.5 m, that earned him 254.4 points, and came in 13th. Tom Hilde (19th) and Andreas Stjernen (23rd) could also take part in the second round, but did not do that well. Rune Velta (32nd) and Anders Fannemel (47th) were already out after the first round.
Poland’s jumpers performed well in Trondheim. Apart from the winner, Kamil Stoch, also Piotr Zyla (129 and 131 m; 259.5 points) was in the Top 10 as ninth. With a good second jump on 131.5 m Dawid Kubacki came in 17th. Maciej Kot (24th) and Stefan Hula (29th) confirmed the good shape of the Polish team.
It was not a good competition of the Austrians. None of the six athletes of head coach Alexander Pointner achieved a Top 10 result on Friday. With his total of 256.1 points Wolfgang Loitzl missed the tenth place by 2.3 points and finished eleventh. Stefan Kraft, Manuel Fettner and Gregor Schlierenzauer came in 14th, 15th and 16th. The World Cup overall winner showed two consistent jumps on 128 m and 129 m but his total of 250.8 points was not good enough to keep up with the best ten. Martin Koch, who is back on the team for the competitions in Norway, could not make it to the second round after he landed at 119.5 m and scored 106.3 points. Andreas Kofler shared his fate and showed that he is far away from his best shape.
No final round for Ammann
A jump on 118.5 m and a total of 108.8 points were not good enough for Simon Ammann to reach the second round. The 31-year-old of Switzerland came in 35th, two places better than his young teammate Gregor Deschwanden (119 m; 106.2 points).
Vincent Descombes Sevioe of France did well again and came in 18th. The Czech team showed a decrease of its shape. Jan Matura (125.5 m and 129 m; 248.7 points) was the best of Czech Republic as 21st. Roman Koudelka (38th) and Lukas Hlava (43rd) still struggle with their jumping and both of them left Trondheim without World Cup points.
Stoch now in the Top 3
Gregor Schlierenzauer, who already won the overall World Cup title, scored 1395 points in his 22 competitions. Anders Bardal (932 points) remains second. With his win in Trondheim Kamil Stoch (847 points) is now third, followed by Severin Freund (845 points).