Overview
- Qualification in Oberstdorf is set for Sunday, December 28, with the opening competition on Monday, December 29, carried live by ARD/ZDF and also on Eurosport.
- Domen Prevc leads the World Cup after a dominant December run and is the consensus favorite, while three-time Tournee winner Ryoyu Kobayashi arrives in top form after winning the Engelberg rehearsal.
- Germany has named an enlarged squad for the home stages using the Nationale Gruppe, led by Philipp Raimund and Felix Hoffmann, with returns for Andreas Wellinger and Karl Geiger alongside Pius Paschke, Luca Roth, Ben Bayer, Max Unglaube and Constantin Schmid.
- DSV coaches set a clear selection rule that underperformers in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen will not continue to Innsbruck and Bischofshofen as the team shrinks to five athletes for Austria.
- Domestic interest is heightened by a 24-year wait since Sven Hannawald’s 2001/02 triumph, with Raimund and Hoffmann viewed as Germany’s best hopes as Austria’s title defender Daniel Tschofenig and teammate Stefan Kraft seek consistency.