Super six for Nika Prevc despite extreme wind in Zhangjiakou

The unstoppable march of Nika Prevc (SLO) towards the Crystal Globe continues as she won her sixth consecutive World Cup in Zhangjiakou, China.

Despite exceptionally challenging conditions, the Slovenian jumped 134.5m in the opening round, just two meters shorter than the hill record she set in China on Friday. Anna Odine Stroem (NOR) and Nozomi Maruyama (JPN) completed the podium in a weather-curtailed competition.

"Today I had to be very patient, it was a long afternoon of waiting," said Prevc.

"I'm glad we got a chance to do one round, even if it was very cold the competition was still good from me."

The win moves the Slovenian more than 350 points clear of the field in the overall race for the Crystal Globe, but Prevc is taking it one World Cup at a time.

Challenging conditions

It was a tough morning for athletes and fans alike as the wind in Zhangjiakou played havoc with the competition schedule. Qualification was cancelled before the start of the first round was delayed by more than 90 minutes.

When competition did get underway, the strong and swirling wind made for ever-challenging conditions. With repeated delays, it took over an hour to complete the opening round. As soon as Prevc completed her jump, the decision to cancel the final round was announced.

Maruyama maintains her hold on second place in the Crystal Globe race thanks to her third-place finish (94.7pts). It was a strong showing overall from Japan, who ended the second day in Zhangiakou with four athletes in the top ten.

Selina Freitag (GER) couldn’t add to her third place from Friday, her score of 75.6pts only enough for 12th. Agnes Reisch was the top-placed German in fifth (86.6pts). And there was to be no home podium for Zeng Ping (CHN), who jumped 124m to earn 84.7pts and eighth place.

Prevc was the only athlete to score over 100pts, ending on a score of 113.6. Stroem (NOR) in second jumped 127m for a total score of 97.5pts. The Norwegian remains fourth in the overall standings but has closed the gap on third-placed Lisa Eder (AUT), who finished ninth for the second time in Zhangjiakou.

"It was cold and windy and we had to wait for quite a while, but we got to finish one round!" said Stroem.

"I'm happy with my one jump that I got from all the waiting today."