Back-to-back victories for Prevc in Villach thriller
Jan 06, 2026·Ski Jumping
Nika Prevc (SLO) continued her dominant form with a second successive victory in Villach, Austria. Prevc secured her seventh World Cup win of the season, edging out Lisa Eder (AUT) by just 0.6 points. Agnes Reisch (GER) rounded out the podium with her first top-three result of the 2025/26 season.
With a home World Cup in Ljubno (SLO) coming up this weekend, overall World Cup leader Prevc once again proved she’s currently the one to beat. Already impressive in qualification, finishing ahead of Eder and Zeng Ping (CHN), Prevc went on to take the lead in the first round with a strong 92.0m jump, earning 125.9 points and a 1.9-point advantage over Eder.
The 20-year-old Slovenian did not let go of her advantage in the second round (89.5m and 122.8 points), although Eder managed to close the gap considerably.
The Austrian, who also finished second behind Prevc on Monday, produced a better second-round jump (91m and 124.1 points), but Prevc’s early lead was enough to secure the win, giving her a combined total of 248.7 points.
In the World Cup standings, Prevc is now 100 points clear of Japan’s Nozomi Maruyama, who only finished eighth on both days in Villach.
"To be honest, I was still a little nervous today”, Prevc said. “I need to learn to trust myself even more.”
Nevertheless, the two-time Crystal Globe winner is looking forward to the upcoming World Cup in Ljubno. "That’s our home hill, and our fans always come in large numbers, so I’m really looking forward to the event. Hopefully, team Slovenia can continue to do well out there.”
Eder wants another challenge
Meanwhile, runner-up Eder left the hill in Villach with some mixed feelings. “Of course, it’s great to get a podium spot again, but I wanted to challenge her (Prevc) even more”, Eder said.
“I’d say in Ljubno, we’ll turn the tables", she smiled. "It’s just going smoothly for me at the moment. I wouldn’t have thought that I could be among the leaders with every jump. I hope I can continue this form.”
Reisch and Villach: friends again
Reisch held onto her third place position from start to finish, landing her first World Cup podium of the season with a combined total of 240.9 points. “It really means a lot to me to be able to stand on the podium today”, Reisch said afterward.
The 26-year-old German had suffered serious falls in Villach at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2024, making it a challenging journey to compete on the hill again. “The last time in Villach, I fell and injured myself, and my season came to an end", Reisch explained.
"It feels great to turn things around and land on the podium. With every jump, I gained more confidence on the hill. This is how I imagine ski jumping should feel.”
Reisch finished ahead of compatriot Selina Freitag (GER), who finished in third on Monday but fell short today. “I had a really cool competition”, Freitag said afterward.
“I’m also happy for Agnes that she can now stand on the podium", Freitag added. "She’s had difficulties here (in Villach) before and got injured. It’s incredibly strong when you’re mentally free and can make friends with the hill.”
Abigail Strate (CAN), who won the first World Cup of 2026, rounded out the top five. Julia Muehlbacher (AUT) finished sixth in front of the home-crowd.
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