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Slovenia's Domen Prevc jumps during the men's trial round of the large hill event at the Four Hills Tournament World Cup ski jumping competition. Daniel Karmann/dpa
Timi Zajc's disqualification at the Four Hills opener for a suit violation shows that the ruling body FIS is acting tough on ski jumping equipment.
Zajc originally finished joint second in Oberstdorf on Tuesday night with Austrian jumper and defending Four Hills champion Daniel Tschofenig behind fellow Slovenian Domen Prevc.
But he was disqualified post-competition because his suit was three millimetres too long. Bigger suits improve aerodynamics in the air.
The FIS has tightened its rules after a major suit scandal at the world championships in March involving jumpers and officials from hosts Norway.
"Rules are rules. You can't make exceptions. We don't make exceptions," suit controller Mathias Hafele said of Zajc's DQ.
Hafele said Zajc's suit was according to the rules in a first inspection but that "we can not control ... what they do with the suits afterwards. Whether they stretch them or something like that."
Zajc's fate was a little damper for the Slovenians who could however celebrate a first ever victory in Oberstdorf from their dominator Prevc, ahead of Tschofenig and German Felix Hoffmann, who was promoted from fourth to third.
Prevc became the first Slovenian to win in Oberstdorf as he claimed his sixth victory from the last seven events in overwhelming fashion by 17.5 points.
That gives him a big cushion of more than 10 metres going into stop two on Thursday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the rivals have little illusions.
Tschofenig was happy to have rediscovered his form when it mattered and said that the Four Hills is "a marathon" but he conceded that Prevc "makes no mistakes; he nails jump after jump. We almost have to hope that he makes an error.”
Hoffmann said his podium "will give me a boost for Garmisch" and that "apart from Domen, everything is close together."
Tschofenig and triple Four Hills winner Ryoyu Kobayashi in sixth are separated by only 4.2 points.
Prevc remained modest amid all the praise after taking a first step towards emulating his older brother Peter Prevc (2016) and Primoz Peterka (1997) as Four Hills winners from Slovenia.
"Things may feel or look so easy, but on the other hand a thousand thoughts run through my head. I just stay focused," he said.
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