Granerud relieved to get back to winning ways in Titisee-Neustadt

Relieved Halvor Egner Granerud admits he was itching to end his barren run of results after soaring back to the top of the podoum at the Ski Jumping World Cup in Titisee-Neustadt.

The Norwegian flyer had gone six World Cup events without a win but banished his Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen demons to get back to winning ways in style.

Granerud, 24, recorded jumps of 140m and 138m to topple compatriot Daniel-Andre Tande by a total of 2.4 points.

Austria's Stefan Kraft scooped the final spot on the podium but Granerud, now a six-time World Cup event winner, reckons he mastered the tricky conditions in the south-west German snow.

He said: "I wanted to win. Of course, I always want to win.

"It's been five competitions without a win after five wins in a row so, yeah, it feels great to win again.

"It was tough conditions. It's always a bit strange when you jump in quite a lot of tailwind.

"You don't get the same answers from the jump or the skis, so you have to be patient in the flying phase and just wait and wait and wait and then put the telemark down.

"It was a tough day but the hill and everything is so perfect, so it was great fun."

Granerud's first jump was 1.5m higher than Tande's while Kraft, 27, notched an effort of 138m.

Tande, 26, jumped the same height as Granerud second time around but his 138m leap was not enough to usurp his fellow Norwegian's advantage.

Germany's Marcus Eisenbichler finished fourth on home snow, while Marius Lindvik made it three Norwegians in the comeptiton's top five with jumps of 133.5m and 137m.

Granerud now leads the overall standings on an imperious 948 points, 264 ahead of Eisenbichler and over 300 clear of Kamil Stoch – who finished 17th in Titisee-Neustadt – in third.

Poland's Stoch, 33, had won the previous three World Cup events and will bid to get back to winning ways in his home country when the field descend on Zakopane next weekend.