Austria’s Clemens Aigner and Jonas Schuster, along with Markus Eisenbichler of Germany, can all lay claim to the best rides in Giant Pine’s storied history.

They’re among a field of 44 jumpers from 10 nations who’ll compete in the three-day Marshfield Medical Center-Dickinson Continental Cup tournament starting Friday.

“The field is very strong,” said Susie Fox, the Kiwanis Ski Club’s correspondence secretary. “We have World Cup jumpers, some former Olympic jumpers, and (Pine Mountain) champions, a really exciting field.”

Aigner, a 2018 Olympian, will return for his first competition at Pine Mountain since setting the hill’s 472-foot record in 2020. The 32-year-old Aigner is ranked first in overall FIS Continental Cup points and will be joined by Austrian teammates who are also among the circuit’s top jumpers.

A ski jumper rides out his landing at the Kiwanis Ski Club’s first official tournament at Pine Mountain in 1939. The 2025 FIS Continental Cup at Pine Mountain starts Friday and extends through Sunday, with plans to have four competitions if conditions allow: one each on Friday and Sunday, two on Saturday.

Schuster, 21, who placed first and fourth in his initial appearance at Pine Mountain a year ago, has a 456-foot effort to his credit here. That’s tied for the best jump since a new scaffold was completed after Aigner’s record leap.

Schuster ranks third in Continental Cup winter points, just behind Markus Mueller, a 22-year-old Austrian athlete who not only holds the No. 2 spot in Continental Cup but also contends in World Cup.

Manuel Fettner, 39, a gold medal winner in the large hill team event at the 2022 Olympics, is coming off a sweep of Continental Cup events Feb. 1 and 2 in Lillehammer, Norway. He then turned in an eighth-place finish Saturday at a World Cup tournament in Sapporo, Japan.

Fellow Austrian Stephan Embacher, 19, was the top jumper at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships last weekend at Lake Placid, N.Y.

The Austrians can expect a strong challenge from a German team that includes 33-year-old Eisenbichler, a former Olympian who placed first and third a year ago at Pine Mountain. He soared 456 feet to match Schuster during that meet.

Other top German jumpers are 2023 Pine Mountain champion Felix Hoffman, 27, who has competed in World Cup and ranks ninth in Continental Cup, and 24-year-old Luca Roth, who had a second-place finish at Pine Mountain in 2023.

Norway’s Fredrik Villumstad, 25, was a contender a year ago at Pine Mountain and stands sixth in winter Continental Cup points while teammate Robert Johansson, 34, is an Olympic and World Cup veteran who finished just behind Austria’s Fettner at Lillehammer.

The U.S. contingent includes World Cup jumper Andrew Urlaub, 23 of Eau Claire, Wis.; Decker Dean, 24; Sawyer Graves, 16; Maxim Glyvka, 18; and 19-year old Bryce Kloc, who won a bronze medal in a team event Feb. 12 at the FIS Junior World Championships in Lake Placid.

Slovenia’s Urban Simnic, 17, and Ziga Jancar, 19, were gold medalists in a Junior team event at Lake Placid while 23-year-old Zak Mogel brings World Cup experience. Ziga Jelar 27, returns to Pine Mountain having claimed a title when Slovenians dominated at Giant Pine in 2022.

Former Olympian Maciej Kot, 33, of Poland, ranks fifth in winter Continental Cup points and is coming a victory Feb. 9 at Kranj, Slovenia.

Jumpers from Switzerland, Finland, France and Kazakhstan round out the field.

PM Road closed Saturday, Sunday

Pine Mountain Road and Lodge Road will be closed to through traffic from 9 a.m. Saturday through 3:30 p.m. Sunday for the FIS Continental Cup tournament at Pine Mountain, the Dickinson County Road Commission said.

On Friday, “slow” signs will be in place for that day’s events, which includes a competition slated for 1 p.m.

A shuttle will be running from the Bay College parking lot to the main gate of the ski jump complex on Saturday. Cost is $5 roundtrip.

Riders must have a ski button to get on the shuttle and buttons will be available for purchase at the Bay College lot.

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Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.