Record-setting Kubacki soars to Four Hills win in Garmisch

Defending champion Dawid Kubacki of Poland sailed out to victory in the second round of the Four Hills ski jumping competition on Friday.

Kubacki could only finish 15th in the opening stage in Oberstdorf on Tuesday, but rebounded in some style as he registered a 144-metre second jump in Garmisch, a new record for the venue.

The 30-year-old Pole amassed 282.1 points to finish ahead of Norway's Halvor Egner Granerud, on 274.9pts, with Kubacki's teammate Piotr Zyla (260.4) rounding out the podium.

Germany's Karl Geiger, the winner in Oberstdorf, finished fifth behind another Pole, Kamil Stoch, a three-time Olympic gold medallist, double World Cup winner and twice the Four Hills champion.

"This second jump was finally a really good one, that's what I've been waiting for. It feels great if you can show such a jump at the right moment," said Kubacki after his fifth career World Cup win.

The Pole is now fourth in the overall standings, only 8.6 points behind leader Granerud.

Geiger and Stoch are second and third overall.

The Four Hills competition, taking place without spectators, now moves to Innsbruck (Jan 3) and Bischofshofen in Austria (Jan 6).