Germany's Freund wins Four Hills opener
Germany's Severin Freund won the first round of the Four Hills on front of his home crowd at Obertsdorf on Tuesday to end the winning run of World Cup leader Peter Prevc.
Freund, second behind Prevc in the overall World Cup standings, claimed his third victory of the season with a total of 307.2 points following two jumps to finish ahead of Austrian Michael Hayboeck (304.2).
The 27-year-old German's win ended a series of three consecutive victories by Slovenian Prevc, who took third (299.9) and his sixth podium finish of the season.
Four-time Olympic champion Simon Ammann slumped to 12th, with Poland's Kamil Stoch, a double Olympic champion in Sochi, faring even worse in 23rd position.
The next round of the prestigious Four Hills will also be in Germany in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on January 1, before heading to Innsbruck and Bischofshofen in Austria on January 3 and 6 respectively.
Results (after two jumps):
1. Severin Freund (GER) 307.2 pts (126.0 + 137.5 m), 2. Michael Hayboeck (AUT) 304.2 (130.0 + 139.0 m), 3. Peter Prevc (SLO) 299.9 (129.5 + 130.0 m), 4. Anders Fannemel (NOR) 295.8 (130.5 + 129.0 m), 5. Noriaki Kasai (JPN) 290.6 (127.0 + 133.5 m), 6. Kenneth Gangnes (NOR) 288.6 (129.0 + 135.5 m)
Selected:
12. Simon Ammann (SUI) 267.3 (123.5 + 127.0 m), 23. Kamil Stoch (POL) 247.2 (121.0 + 123,5 m), 27. Domen Prevc (SLO) 233.1 (121.5 + 108.5 m)
Overall World Cup standings (after 8 events):
1. Peter Prevc (SLO) 624 pts, 2. Severin Freund (GER) 499, 3. Kenneth Gangnes (NOR) 410
Selected:
9. Domen Prevc (SLO) 215, 15. Simon Ammann (SUI) 139, 19. Kamil Stoch (POL) 100, 31. Gregor Schlierenzauer (AUT) 43, 36. Vincent Descombes Sevoie 28