Morning exercise with spring fever.

Rush down the hill a few more times and fly far.

Then it's over for the ski jumpers this winter, which they traditionally end with spring-like conditions in the valley of the hills.

Planica in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia.

Here the decision is made.

Ryoyu Kobayashi or Karl Geiger - one of the two will secure the overall World Cup.

Before the last two individual decisions (this Friday, 2:00 p.m., Sunday, 10:00 a.m.; team Saturday, 10:00 a.m. on ARD and Eurosport), the Japanese is 66 points ahead of the man from Oberstdorf.

Ralph Weitbrecht

sports editor.

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Geiger could still intercept the winner of the Four Hills Tournament.

But for that everything has to fit.

Geiger himself says before the big season finale at almost 20 degrees: "We're all no longer fit, but our heart rate rises again during ski flying." Just like a little over a year ago, when Geiger competed on the legendary giant hill called Letalnica won the world title in ski flying.

It was a coup of a special kind, because it was the time when Geiger fell ill with Corona and also became a father.

There is a folk festival atmosphere in Planica.

Ski jumping fans always come in large numbers to this top-class sporting event.

Not only around the Vikersunder Bakken in Norway: The heart of ski flying beats here in the Slovenian valley of ski jumps.

Nordic skiing is at home here in a very special way.

And it was about time that the commitment of the creators was finally acknowledged.

In 2023, the Nordic World Ski Championships will take place for the first time in Planica from February 21 to March 5.

"It's great fun"

Planica - a place of longing for the particularly daring in the field of ski jumping, who can live out their passion with ski flying.

A place that Karl Geiger has also grown fond of.

"Jump and fly here is great fun," says the 29-year-old from the Allgäu.

"I'm really looking forward to that again." Last week, at his home game on the Heini-Klopfer-Schanze in Oberstdorf, things didn't quite go according to plan for Geiger.

He didn't make it onto the podium.

However, he was not completely dissatisfied with eighth and ninth place.

He knows he can do better.

Stefan Horngacher knows this too.

The national coach of the German ski jumpers made his way to Planica with six athletes.

In addition to frontman Geiger, these are Markus Eisenbichler, Andreas Wellinger, Severin Freund, Stephan Leyhe and Constantin Schmid.

Horngacher's approach to the ski flying festival with the smell of bratwurst around the giant hill: "Even if everything is still open in the overall World Cup ranking, we want to focus on our technology and the associated great flights.

It is important to end the season with a positive feeling and good results.”