Ski-jumping World Cup starting, all eyes on champion Prevc
Ljubljana, 24 November - The new season of the ski jumping World Cup, which is extremely popular in Slovenia, will get under way in Finland's Kuusamo on Friday, also featuring reigning champion Peter Prevc. The 24-year-old Slovenian, who dominated last season like no other jumper to date, is eager to find out where he stands this year.
Planica
Double win for Slovenia at the second individual event of sky flying in Planica in 2016. Peter Prevc (left) and winner Robert Kranjec.
Photo: Stanko Gruden/STA
Prevc played with the competition in 2015/16, bagging a record 15 victories and 22 podium finishes. He is not 100% sure about his current form, but remains focused entirely on himself as he will try to become the first jumper to defend the overall World Cup title after 2005.
"I don't remember exactly how I was jumping at this time last year. After all the training my head is full of everything; head this way, hands there, a little higher, etc. I'm however happy with my final two jumps today," Prevc said as the team presented itself to the press on Monday.
While noting that transition to snow will be an important factor, he said he was eager to "find out where I stand, at the top or in the middle".
Prevc will miss the company of Slovenia's second-best jumper last year, veteran Robert Kranjec, who is out with a knee injury. The 35-year-old hopes to be back for the next season and wants to focus on the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
This makes 27-year-old Jurij Tepeš the oldest member of the team. Along with Tepeš, who indicated his form was again not as stable as he wished, top results are also expected from Prevc's younger brother, 17-year-old Domen Prevc.
The youngster, who took the ski jumping world by storm with two podium finishes last year, said he expects "nothing from the season" and would not even get discouraged by "total failure".
Head-coach Goran Janus also downplayed expectations after last year's dream season, which ended with a Prevc-Kranjec double victory in front of tens of thousands of Slovenian fans at the Planica ski flying hill.
Janus said the conditions for training had been very good, but that the World Cup was starting from scratch. After Slovenia finished second after Norway in the nation rankings last season, Janus spoke of a top five finish as satisfactory, but was quick to add that first place remained a wish.