Continental Cup jumping season begins in Slovenia

The FIS Continental Cup ski jumping season began July 4 in Velenje, Slovenia, with a pair of wins by the home team.

The FIS Continental Cup ski jumping season began July 4 in Velenje, Slovenia, with a home hill jumper taking top honors.
    The first winner of the 2008 summer season was Primoz Pikl, who beat teammate Robert Hrgota by three points. In the second competition in Velenje on July 5, 17-year-old Pascal Bodmer of Germany won with a comfortable margin of seven points.     With one victory and four podium appearances, the two Velenje competitions represented a perfect start for new Slovenian head coach Matjaz Zupan. Saturday's competition was even broadcast live on Slovenian television.
    "After some initial starting difficulties, we again had two good competitions in Velenje," said FIS Continental Cup Coordinator Horst Tielmann. "Bodmer's victory shows that the Germans are on the right way and that his team gold from the 2008 FIS Junior World Championships in Zakopane was no coincidence."
    In the third competition on Sunday, held in Kranj, Slovenia, another 17-year-old, Poland's Maciej Kot, took the honors. He finished just 0.9 points ahead of teammate Stefan Hula. After three competitions, Pikl leads the Continental Cup rankings with 220 points.