Markus Eisenbichler and Halvor Egner Granerud are also strong in Nizhny Tagil

Markus Eisenbichler won the first qualification in Nizhny Tagil (RUS) on Friday evening. 29-the summer-old German showed the longest jump in the series on 135 meters and won 138,1 point. Norwegian Halvor Egner Granerud and Daniel Huber from Austria finished second and third.

It was a great start to the weekend in Nizhny Tagil, almost 2000 km east of Moscow, for World Cup leader Markus Eisenbichler. “During the jump I had conditions typical for Nizhny Tagil, light tailwind after take-off, and then a little opposite in flight. It's great fun”, Eisenbichler said, who was satisfied with the jump and the test. 3000 CHF, – for the winner.

Eisenbichler is not the main favorite for the two competitions on Saturday and Sunday, pose Halvor Egner Granerud, who also showed very strong jumps in Nizhny Tagil. In qualifying Granerud jumped on 131,5 I was ranked second, Just 2,3 point behind Eisenbichler.

Eisenbichler and Granerud will be the ones, which must be overcome, to win on the hill in Nizhny Tagil in expected perfect conditions on Saturday.

Daniel Huber from the Austrian national team also showed strong form. Huber was third and the best of the Austrians, just like at the opening of the season in Wisła. From the hill, the Austrians received news of the unexpected dismissal of assistant coach Robert Treitinger. Treitinger was one of the band members, who tested positive for coronavirus after the opening of the World Championships in Wisła.

Last year's winner Yukiya Sato confirmed his position as the current top Japanese ski jumper in fourth place. Marius Lindvik and Robert Johansson took fifth and sixth place and complemented the very good result of coach Alexander Stoeckl's team.