November 14, 2013 – This season, the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup presented by Viessmann will get underway in Germany’s Klingenthal. A snow depot, which was set up in the past winter in the Vogtland-Arena, has made it possible to prepare the hill so early in the season to host the Opening event on 23rd and 24th November 2013.

Robert Kranjec © FIS

From a sporting perspective, athletes and spectators alike are anticipating a winter full of highlights: The FIS Ski Jumping World Cup events, the prestigious 4-Hills-Tournament, the 2014 Olympic Winter Games as well as the 2014 Ski Flying World Championships. All are on this season’s calendar.

One of the main stars to watch out for will be Gregor Schlierenzauer of Austria. The 23-year-old dominated last winter’s overall World Cup with a total of 1620 points and also took his 50th individual victory, a record that is sure to stand for many years.

An Olympic Gold Medal remains the ultimate goal of the Tyrolean flying eagle. But there are other athletes who would like to make their mark: Veteran Janne Ahonen of Finland, who retired in 2011, recently put the jumping skis back on to fight for an individual medal at the Olympics. Anders Bardal, Norwegian World Champion, is a serious medal contender. Simon Ammann, four-time Olympic Champion of Switzerland is always among the favourites at the Olympics and World Championships. It also remains to be seen what the high flyers of the FIS summer series will do, such as 18-year-old German Andreas Wellinger, who demonstrated outstanding form during the FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix 2013.

To find out more about the different World Cup stages, click here.