Slovenia's Pikl nabs Continental Cup wins

The FIS Continental Cup in ski jumping started in Slovenia with two competitions in Velenje from July 6-7 and one event in Kranj on July 8. Velenje, organizing the Continental Cup opening since the 2000-01 season, and the former Junior World Ski Championships town Kranj enjoyed a successful weekend with good weather conditions and between 53 to 62 participants from 13 different nations.

THE FIS CONTINENTAL CUP in ski jumping started in Slovenia with two competitions in Velenje from July 6-7 and one event in Kranj on July 8. Velenje, organizing the Continental Cup opening since the 2000-01 season, and the former Junior World Ski Championships town Kranj enjoyed a successful weekend with good weather conditions and between 53 to 62 participants from 13 different nations.
    On the first day, 23-year-old Austrian Bastian Kaltenboeck claimed victory ahead of Slovenian Primoz Pikl, who won the two competitions on Saturday and Sunday. For Pikl, it was the first two Continental Cup victories of his career, while Kaltenboeck has already won four times in winter Continental Cups. After the first three events, Pikl leads the standings with 280 points ahead of the Japanese athlete Keita Umezaki (192 points) and Bastian Kaltenboeck (160 points). Click here for detailed results.
    “It was a great weekend, we saw successful competitions with fair conditions and at the end we had a total of seven nations in the top 10,” said FIS Continental Cup Coordinator Sepp Gratzer. “The Continental Cup series are very important, it provides the basis for the athletes to gain the necessary competition experience that is required for success later on at World Cup level. It is also an important step to earn a starting place for the national ski association in a World Cup competition.”
    The first period of the men's Continental Cup ski jumping, which includes six more competitions, will continue in Oberstdorf, Germany, at the beginning of August. Click here for the men's Continental Cup calendar.