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With a leisurely ride on the bumpy slope, Kranjec, winner of Adelboden in January, clearly outdid the competition. Swiss talent Marco Odermatt already lost 0.46 seconds to the second-place Slovenian. Frenchman Alexis Pinturault lurks in third place, 0.48 seconds behind.
However, many hopefuls for victory did not get along with the conditions. So Sölden’s first winner, Norwegian Lucas Braathen, lost more than two seconds to Kranjec. Henrik Kristoffersen, a contender for victory in the World Cup overall, also lost 1.19 seconds and could only shake his head at the finish line.
Feller sees nothing and fights
As the best Austrian, Manuel Feller was 15th (+1.78 seconds) and thus made the ÖSV team a bit easier. Because the reaction was the same for all the drivers at the finish: guesswork about the gap. Feller said of the conditions in the ORF interview: “The slope was good. But if you don’t know what’s coming, it’s hard to drive. You have to overcome yourself, the visibility of the ground is zero and your glasses fog up. “
The 28-year-old Tyrolean, who has performed his first giant slalom since March 2, was really looking forward to fighting for the second round: “I fought and am satisfied with my first giant slalom this season. Also for the second round you have to fight and accelerate. “
First race: Manuel Feller (AUT)
In his first giant slalom of the season, Manuel Feller secured the best race for an Austrian in the first race.
Pertl surprises with the number 63
Adrian Pertl also struggled, who delivered the big surprise from an Austrian point of view with start number 63. Looking brave, the 24-year-old Carinthian made it into the top 30 (27./+2.66). Pertl recently showed fourth place in the side competition.
First execution: Adrian Pertl (AUT)
From the Austrian point of view, Adrian Pertl with the starting number 63 was the big surprise
“You haven’t really seen much, but I’m really happy I made it into the top 30,” Pertl said at ORF. “So far my giant slalom performances haven’t been that good, but now it’s okay. Fourth place at Lech also gave me confidence. ” Pertl stayed just ahead of teammate Roland Leitinger (27./+ 2.68 seconds), who was the fourth and last rider from ÖSV to secure a place in the decision.
“I had a difficult time with the snow”
The second best ÖSV rider in the first race, however, was Marco Schwarz, who was the first Austrian to start the race with start number 16 and was 23rd at the end (+2.28 seconds). His analysis of the first race was similar to Feller’s: “A couple of turns were good, but I also had problems with the snow. It is clear that when it snows so much, the slope is not the same for everyone ”.
First execution: Marco Schwarz (AUT)
Marco Schwarz did not get along with the conditions.
The 25-year-old recently struggled with a CoV infection. Its start was only decided on Friday. The Carinthian did not want to cite the illness he had survived as the reason for the deficit: “Physically I am in top shape. Of course, it was not ideal to come here with only two days of training. But I want to run. “
Kriechmayr: “I couldn’t stop either”
The other Austrian starters can no longer drive: Magnus Walch (38./+3.20) rushed to qualify for the final, as did Stefan Brennsteiner (41./+3.36) and Raphael Haaser (51./+4), 16 ) finished. Speed specialist Vincent Kriechmayr was also no faster, finishing 56th of 59 runners 4.53 seconds behind. “I already knew it was not good, but what should I do? I couldn’t stop myself either, ”Kriechmayr said openly about his journey.
