[ad_1]
meIn man, one word: ski racer Linus Straßer shone with a sixth place in the 500th slalom in World Cup history. With Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen’s first win of the season in the night race at the traditional Canalone Miramonti in Madonna di Campiglio / Italy, the 27-year-old from Munich easily achieved the top ten position he had hoped for, despite his lack of training.
Straßer shared sixth place with Frenchmen Jean-Baptiste Grange and Alexis Pinturault. “I’m very happy, my skiing was great,” said Straßer, clearly satisfied. The day before, he had finished 18th in the first slalom of the season in Alta Badia / Italy and then commented that he still lacked confidence after his very late start to training due to a sore quadriceps tendon. However, he hoped to “enter the top ten” at Madonna di Campiglio.
In the end, Straßer was just 0.20 seconds from third place and his first podium on a special slalom. Along with Kristoffersen, who rose from twelfth place in the first round of the final, his Norwegian compatriot Sebastian Foss-Solevaag (+0.33) and South Tyrolean Alex Vinatzer (+0.34) took the podium.
After his second race on the battered track, Straßer stretched his right index finger towards the night sky, very satisfied. “In Alta Badia”, he said, “the result left a little to be desired”, but this time “both were right”, the ski and the result. “Now we have to get those two tenths out somewhere so that we finally get to the podium,” added Straßer, who had only been better once in his career in a special slalom.
“It was an extremely enjoyable and brutally good race,” said Alpine boss Wolfgang Maier. “The Linus has clearly shown that it is back.” And the most important races of the winter are yet to come, such as the Torlauf classics in Adelboden, Wengen, Kitzbühel and Schladming in January and the World Championship in Cortina d Ampezzo.
Sebastian Holzmann also showed a good performance. With the 43rd start high, he qualified for the final as the day before, where the 27-year-old won the eighth points of the World Cup in 25th place. Holzmann had won the slalom qualification at the European Cup last winter and thus won a personal right to start the World Cup. At the Miramonti, he was the rider with the highest number of starts in the second race.
