Tschofenig tops all-Austrian Engelberg World Cup podium

How it unfolded: Engelberg Men’s World Cup 2

Following a slight improvement in the weather, after the earlier cancellation of the women’s World Cup, venue officials worked tirelessly to prepare the hill for the men’s competition.

Snowfall was still heavy, but the wind had dropped, enabling the 50-strong field to being the first of what they hoped would be two full rounds of competition.

Piotr Zyla (POL) had been well-placed for a successful World Cup on Saturday, before he was disqualified ahead of the second round and he was the first to hit the 120 mark from the HS120 hill.

The target distances would though, as expected, increase significantly, with Johann Andre Forfang (NOR) and then Timi Zajc (SLO), wearing the number 55 and 57 bibs, both the 130m mark.

Maximilian Ortner (AUT) had topped qualifying, for the first time in his career, during the early morning session and showed he would again be pushing for a top-ranking by recording a jump of 134m, which scored 131.8 points.

Team-mate Stefan Kraft (AUT), who won the 2023/24 crystal globe, edged ahead, as did Daniel Tschofenig (AUT) and they occupied positions one and two respectively, at the end of the opening round.

Austrian athletes held four of the top five positions in fact, with home-favourite Gregor Deschwanden (SUI) in third and looking for a second podium finish in as many days.

Just 11 points separated leader Tschofenig (AUT) and countryman Markus Mueller (AUT) in tenth heading into the second round, which would feature the top 30 ranked athletes.