[ad_1]
If Katharina Liensberger continues in this vein, the handsome Vorarlberg won’t have long to wait for her first Alpine Ski World Cup win. At the Semmering illuminated slalom, the 23-year-old was just eleven hundredths behind Michelle Gisin in second, the number one red-white-red technique had already shone third in Levi’s double slalom. “I’m happy with the way things are going right now,” emphasized Liensberger, who can really see the joy of running. He circles through the “forest of posts” with a smile on his face. That says everything.
After a cozy New Year’s Eve, Liensberger will go into attack mode early in the New Year. The first race in 2021 will be the slalom in Zagreb on Sunday. Perhaps the red-white-red dry period will end there. Since November 2014 (Nicole Hosp in Aspen), the women of ÖSV have been waiting for a victory in the goal race.
If racing director Christian Mitter had his way, Liensberger would have been ready for the big hit at Semmering. “I have mixed feelings. Kathi’s races were very good, but there were also small errors. We could win,” said the Styrian after a spectacular event in which the dominators in this discipline were not in the spotlight. Mikaela Shiffrin had to settle for third place after leading at halftime, Petra Vlhova missed the podium in fourth after five ensuite slalom hits.
Gisin could hardly believe his luck after a historic success. The 27-year-old was the one to end a series of 28 races in which only Shiffrin or Vlhova had won. Additionally, Gisin made Switzerland breathe with relief with their first win at the 144th World Cup. The Swiss had to wait 18 years for victory in the women’s slalom. Marlies Öster won at Berchtesgaden in January 2002.
