Lindsey Van takes 2nd in windy, snowy Hinterzarten World Cup

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Photo via ladiesskijumping.com

Jan. 7, via release - In her first World Cup ever, Lindsey Van — 27-year-old veteran of the sport — nabbed a 2nd place Saturday in Hinterzarten, Germany. Only the scores from the first round were counted because the wind and snow conditions caused delays and forced the competition to conclude after just a handful of women jumped in the second round.

"The weather was gnarly with really unpredictable conditions," said Van. "I’m definitely happy with results today. My jumps were pretty good, not great, but I’m looking forward to jumping farther tomorrow and hoping to do well again."

Ironically, Saturday's competition was a make-up for the cancellation of the Jan. 6 Schonach comp that was cancelled because of warm weather and a lack of snow.

Sabrina Windmüller, SUI, won with a jump of 100 meters; Van was 2nd with 94m and Lisa Demetz (ITA) was 3rd with 97.5m. Visa Women's Ski Jumping members Sarah Hendrickson was 9th (89m); Jessica Jerome was 27th (86m); Alissa Johnson was 32nd (83.5m); and Abby Hughes was 38th (80m).

Coach Paolo Bernardi said he was happy and satisfied with Saturday's results given the conditions.

"The big issue was that the wind was not friendly to us today," he said. "Then, after 25 jumpers went in the first round it started to snow really hard and Abby, Alissa and Jessica really lost a lot of speed in all the snow, but managed to jump very well."

Hendrickson, who still leads the World Cup in overall points, is performing well but just got caught up in the worst wind conditions, Bernardi said.

Van didn't compete in the World Cup opener in Lillehammer, Norway in December as she was healing from ankle surgery in October. She said she had no problems with her leg Saturday.

"With better conditions tomorrow I definitely think our team as a whole can get in the top 15 or 10 for sure and we're looking forward to it," Van said.

The World Cup continues Sunday with another competition at Hinterzarten. 

World Cup

Hinterzarten, Germany

Jan. 7, 2012

Women’s Normal Hill

(with wind system calculation)

Competition concluded after first jump only due to poor weather conditions.

1. Sabrina Windmuller, SUI, (100) 114.7

2. Lindsey Van, USA, (94) 113.9

3. Lisa Demetz, ITA, (97.5) 110.7

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9. Sarah Hendrickson, USA, (89) 104.0

27. Jessica Jerome, USA (86) 88.5

32. Alissa Johnson, USA (83.5) 85.1

38. Abby Hughes, USA (80) 77.8

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