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Otmar Striedinger was barely able to train after his crown disease, but finished second on the descent from Val-d’Isère, only beaten by a Slovenian nobody.
Isere Valley. The photo of the provisional winner in the men’s downhill world cup for alpine skiing did not last. Slovenian Martin Čater sensationally snatched the victory from Carinthian Otmar Striedinger (+0.22 seconds) in his debut win at Val-d’Isère with start number 41, while Swiss Urs Kryenbühl (+0.27 seconds) remained third . The start of the race was fully open almost to the end because the slope had become faster with increasing sunlight.
After the Super-G and the Swiss Mauro Caviezel, there was a debut victory and a surprise podium at the start of the sprint races. Elite riders who started out low were beaten that day, World Cup winner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) being the fourth best with impeccable driving. Matthias Mayer was eighth, Max Franz twelfth. Daniel Hemetsberger, who was so strong in training, was fired after a fall in front of him during his driving, allowed to drive again and landed in 29th place. After the snowfall of the last few days, the Savoy region was presented in a dreamlike atmosphere. It soon became clear that no one could feel safe as a winner in the short term, because the slope allowed it all that day. Čater was simply stunned when he strayed at the finish line. “I still can’t believe it,” he said in early interviews. His best downhill finish so far was eighth in 2019 at Wengen. For Slovenia it was the first speed victory since Boštjan Kline in February 2017 in Kvitfjell.
A roller coaster race
Striedinger confessed that he was a bit disappointed after Čater’s trip. “It’s a strange situation when you are briefly upset about second place. You have the victory in front of your eyes and a Slovenian takes it from you, ”said Carinthian, whose roommate is compatriot Christian Walder, who finished third in the Super-G for the first time in his career the day before.
Striedinger’s career has seen ups and downs, this is the fourth podium for the 29-year-old. You have already had a corona infection without symptoms. He sat at home in quarantine for 14 days. “The teammates did a very good training. I traveled to Val-d’Isère with a day or two of downhill training, I was a little nauseous, I thought it would be very little. But I was able to improve very well in training and today I am satisfied. “
Mayer had left a bit of time in the starting section, then it was a strong performance. “The driving was very good, so I am happy. You can build on that. ” Carinthian commented that things had gotten a bit quicker at the rear, which was also what ÖSV Men’s Race Director Andreas Puelacher saw. “We knew it would be a bit faster there, but that shouldn’t reduce performance. Hats off to Čater. But I am also very satisfied with Otmar, Matthias and Max. You can see how tight it was today. “
Kriechmayr made a serious mistake, so he had no chance and moved to 41st place in the standings immediately behind Hannes Reichelt (40th), who had allegedly misappropriated the material. “For me it was the ideal line, unfortunately there was too much fresh snow. The slope was better than expected during the inspection, only one point had not slipped ideally, ”said Kriechmayr.
Ladies RTL only on Monday
The weekend of the Women’s World Cup in Courchevel on Sunday brought a change that was not expected the day before. The second giant slalom at the French ski resort had to be postponed for around 24 hours due to the poor condition of the slopes, the starting time is at 10 am and 1 pm (live, ORF 1). The machining of the slope has damaged the track so much that a race in these conditions was out of the question. (red / age)
Downhill result in Val-d’Isère
1. Martin Čater (SLO) 2: 04.67
2. Otmar Striedinger (AUT) 0.22
3. Urs Kryenbühl (SUI) 0.27
Further: 8. Matthias Mayer (0.59), 12. Max Franz (0.79), 29. Daniel Hemetsberger (1.60).
(“Die Presse”, print edition, December 14, 2020)
