Prevc claims sixth win of the season and takes overall World Cup lead

Jan 05, 2026·Ski Jumping

Nika Prevc (SLO) wins ánd takes the yellow jersey - FIS/ActionPress

Nika Prevc (SLO) claimed her sixth World Cup win of the 2025/26 season as she jumped to victory in Villach, Austria, on Monday. Prevc finished 2.7 points clear of Lisa Eder (AUT), who thrilled the home crowd with a second-place result. Selina Freitag (GER) rounded out the podium with her third straight podium finish this season.

Following her win, Prevc took over at the top of the World Cup standings, overtaking Nozomi Maruyama (JPN), who only finished eighth in Villach. It’s Prevc’s 28th World Cup win of her career.

Prevc, who topped qualifications ahead of Eder earlier in the day, took an early lead in the first round. The 20-year-old Slovenian jumped 94.5m for 120.5 points, opening up a 4,4 point advantage over Anna Odine Stroem (NOR), who dropped to fifth place after the final round.

'Same recipe' tomorrow

The two-time Crystal Globe winner further extended her lead with a 94.0m jump in the final round for 127.4 points, bringing her combined total to 247.9 points.

“I feel a great sense of relief”, Prevc said afterward. “Today I was very nervous; I started really strong. Then I unnecessarily wanted to add some more (power) to my jumps. But (luckily) the competition jumps were still very strong. I’m super happy with how today went. The competition was really smooth”, she said.

“I won’t change anything (for tomorrow)”, she added when asked about Tuesday’s competition. “I will (follow) the same plan and hope it works out.”

Eder gives home crowd plenty to cheer for

Eder, who sat in third after the first round, pulled off a terrific second jump to move up into second, giving the home crowd plenty to cheer for.

The 24-year-old Austrian had never made the podium in Villach before, with her best result until today being a fourth place, achieved in both 2024 and 2025. “I’m very satisfied,” Eder said. "It went really well today. That’s what makes ski jumping enjoyable. I’m really happy about second place, especially because my fans from Leogang are here today. I think I was able to give them a gift", she said with a smile.

“The fans are amazing here in Villach", Eder added. "It’s a home World Cup, so it’s very cool to jump here. I’m already looking forward to tomorrow. It will be a new day. The path is right; now only the timing has to fit.”

Freitag delighted with another podium finish

Freitag moved from fourth to third in the final round to land her third straight podium this season, after finishing second in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and third in Oberstdorf last week. “I had a lot of fun today,” Freitag said. “I didn’t expect that I would make it onto the podium, but I am delighted. It’s almost running by itself at the moment. I can enjoy it and don’t get tense. Sometimes you also need a bit of luck."

"I hope I can show some more good jumps tomorrow", Freitag said. "Let's see what we can do."

Abigail Strate (CAN), who won the first World Cup of 2026 last week, narrowly missed out on the podium in Villach, finishing fourth with 233.4 points. Zeng Ping (CHN) finished sixth.

The women will compete again on Tuesday.