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The team spirit is there, the fire must be lit in the slalom doubles at Levi: this is how group coach Hannes Zöchling summed up the mood among Austria’s ski technicians. Katharina Gallhuber from Göstling (Scheibbs district) also wants to start over this year after a difficult comeback season after her cruciate ligament rupture in 2018. Last season was unsatisfactory for Pyeongchang’s Olympic slalom third. “All winter I lacked confidence in the cheeky line. This year I want to combine stable skiing with attack again. “
Katharina Huber was already in the giant slalom at the start of the season in Sölden, but was eliminated there in the first round. “Levi is always a bit difficult because before the first slalom of the season you never know exactly where he is. I would be very satisfied with a place in the top 15, ”said the 25-year-old from St. Georgen am Reith (Amstetten district), who wants to get into the points more consistently this winter and was able to develop her technique further in summer.
Also, due to the coronavirus, preparing for the season had entirely new priorities. “If we look in the past, where there are good training conditions, good slopes, where the right weather is, then we just had to see that everything was going well with Covid. We selected areas where we had apartments and avoided inclined elevators and large gondolas, ”emphasized Zöchling. Gallhuber also found positive aspects. “Ski events were canceled in spring, but I’ve been training since May and I feel very comfortable on skis.”
The joy of running prevails
The trip to Levi was particularly demanding this year. Only a negative coronavirus test allowed entry to the security bubble, a charter flight carried the World Cup entourage from Zurich to Finland, and the athletes were only able to exit the airport building after another negative test.
“When we are not on the tracks, we basically have to stay in the hotel room,” says Gallhuber, who is happy to accept the coronavirus prevention measures so that he can compete in races at any point in the pandemic. “I am very grateful that we can compete. Everyone on the team adheres to the guidelines. It’s important for me to keep the focus on sports. “
“The trips and waiting times are, of course, longer than in previous years,” Huber added, “but we can easily accept it. In a winter like this, you have to watch from race to race even more than usual. “
With home races in Semmering, where a giant slalom and slalom are scheduled on December 28 and 29, a total of nine slalom races are planned for this season. In addition, the world championship in Cortina d’Ampezzo awaits in February. “A World Cup is always the highlight and my big goal is to be there. My feelings for Semmering are still mixed, but I still have time to mentally prepare for it, “says Gallhuber, who tore his cruciate ligament two years ago while training at Zauberberg.
The Austrian women have been waiting for a slalom victory at Aspen through Nicole Hosp since November 2014, but last season was the most successful since then with three third places. Racing director Christian Mitter says his team is “in a good mood.” “It’s not that we’re going to celebrate a six-point win, but it looks pretty good.” The false start with 15th place as the best place in the World Cup giant slalom in Sölden is marked. “We are better at slalom. The starting position is quite good, I hope we have learned from last year. “
