Monday, 19th November 2012, Velenje, Ljubljana
Into the new season through Gorenje's door
On Saturday, November 17, Studio Gorenje Ljubljana hosted the Slovenian ski jumping team as they talked about the goals for the 2012/13 season at a press conference. The following Monday, they were off to Lillehammer for the seasons' opening competition. Before the race, they will train and test the new suits complying with the rules that were modified by the International Ski Federation (FIS) for this season, from +6 cm to +2 cm. Another novel feature in this season will be the mixed team event (women and men). Two such races have already been held during the summer Grand Prix; in the World Cup, it will be premièred in Lillehammer. Gorenje has been a proud sponsor of Slovenian Nordic ski teams for twenty years.
Last winter, Robert Kranjec was the Slovenian ski jumping hero. On the Vikersund hill, he became the world champion in ski flying; he won the bronze medal in the team event; and he climbed the top of the winner's podium three times in the World Cup races – in Planica, in Oberstdorf, and in Kulm. He is aiming even higher in the new season. "Everything was great during the summer practices: there weren't any problems with the equipment and my results were excellent. All that is left is to carry over that success to the winter season. When we meet in Planica in March next year, I will be able to tell you what I have accomplished."
Primož Triplat, head coach of the Nordic combined team talked about his expectations for the season: "Our goals are not as high as those of the ski jumping team; however, they are still rather ambitious. We wish to see one ski jumper ranked 10th or higher, and three results in the top 10. We would like to see one competitor from our team in the top 15, another one in the top 20, and another one in the top 30 in the World Championships. The goal for the team ranking is top 8. It is a fact that we have to raise the quota to three competitors as this will allow us to appear at the team event at the Olympic Games in Sochi."