The podium of the TV presenters wobbled, the storm swept over the slope: Due to strong winds at Bergiselschanze in Innsbruck, the third competition of the Four Hills Tournament cannot take place there.
After the start had been postponed several times, the organizers finally canceled the competition at 3 p.m. for Tuesday.
The third act of the tour is now to be rescheduled in Bischofshofen on Wednesday.
The final will also take place in the village in Pongau on Epiphany.
Originally the ski jumping show was supposed to start at 1.30 p.m. However, even several postponements did not help. The weather didn't get better and didn't allow any competition. National coach Stefan Horngacher had already suspected before the first change in the start time that it could be very difficult. "I don't have a good feeling when I'm honest," said the Austrian in the service of the German Ski Association. "Innsbruck is the foehn capital par excellence."
The Bergiselschanze is the location on the tour that is most susceptible to wind and weather conditions. For the fourth time in the long history of touring, a competition in Innsbruck could not be held as planned. In the 2007/2008 season he was made up in Bischofshofen. "We will be more flexible in Bischofshofen," said the race director of the World FIS Federation, Sandro Pertile, on ZDF.
The Italian emphasized that the "safety of the athletes" was a priority.
When looking at the flags flapping violently in the wind and the strongly moving blue wind nets, it was also clear to observers: This security would have been seriously endangered.
The local jumpers passed the waiting time between the originally planned start and the jury's decision on the final postponement by playing darts in the dressing room, as the Austrian world champion Stefan Kraft reported on ORF.
In contrast to the Bergiselschanze on the slope with a view of downtown Innsbruck, the Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze in Bischofshofen has floodlights.
In the event of freak weather, the jury therefore has more leeway with the choice of the start time.
The Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi also competes as a top favorite in Pongau.
The 25-year-old won both in Oberstdorf and the New Year's event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and is well on the way to clinching his second overall victory on the tour.
As the best German, Markus Eisenbichler is in fourth place.
The Bavarian got along very well with the Bergiselschanze on Monday and had shown an outstanding jump of 139 meters in training.