A problem with a ski binding robbed Norway’s new ski-jumping star Daniel André Tande from winning the overall Four Hills (Hoppuka) tournament this week, but he did wind up on the winners’ podium anyway. Slalom star Henrik Kristoffersen, meanwhile, wowed the crowds in Adelboden with a solid first place.
Kristoffersen won the 13th World Cup race of his career on Sunday by a margin of nearly two seconds ahead of the second-place winner Manfred Mölgg of Italy. That’s quite a lot of time in the world of super-fast alpine skiing and Kristoffersen was pleased: “I’m just skiing well, it doesn’t amount to much more than that,” he told news bureau NTB with a grin.
Tande, meanwhile, shed some tears of frustration when the Four Hills ski jumping tournament wound up just before the weekend. A broken binding could have resulted in a dangerous fall if Tande hadn’t been as controlled as he was while flying through the air on Friday.
It had looked like Tande would become the first Norwegian to win the prestigious Four Hills tournament in 10 years, since Norway’s Anders Jacobsen clinched it in 2007. The 22-year-old from Kongsberg cheered up later though, and was pleased with a third-place finish: “When I put it in perspective, everything else that happened this week was incredible for me. I’m proud over how I performed and that I have fought for top spots all week.”
newsinenglish.no staff
