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Liensberger is just 22 points behind the Slovakian Petra Vlhova, who is 37 points ahead of the American Mikaela Shiffrin.
05.00, March 14, 2021
Following her first World Cup victory at Aare on Saturday, Katharina Liensberger received all kinds of congratulations and compliments. However, the slalom world champion did not have much time to enjoy himself, as the final in Lenzerheide is already in the spotlight after returning home from Sweden. Liensberger can win his first little crystal ball there. “It’s close and yet I want to focus on myself, on skiing,” emphasized the Vorarlberg native.
Liensberger is now just 22 points behind the Slovakian Petra Vlhova, who is 37 points ahead of the American Mikaela Shiffrin. All the other runners, like the strong Swiss Michelle Gisin and Wendy Holdener, have no mathematical chance.
“I already drove when I was a kid”
Liensberger expects a three-way battle with a duo that has long been “the measure of all things.” “Being able to get closer and closer and being able to run alongside them at a higher level is something very special,” said the 23-year-old, commenting on the situation. “Lenzerheide is very close to me, I drove there many times as a child and I know what to expect.”said Liensberger, who just wants to take care of herself. The recipe has to be “drive like you drove as a child”
Liensberger cannot achieve an Austrian’s first overall slalom victory since Marlies Schild 2011/12 on his own: if he wins the last race in Switzerland and Vlhova is second, Kristall goes to Slovak. Vlhova could still have to pay a heavy price for his mishap in the first round on Saturday, even if he still successfully handled damage limitation with eighth place thanks to faster time in the second section.
“Everything happened already”
“22 points is not much now. It all happened in the final,” said Christian Mitter, director of women’s races. “Now you just have to see that he still has the energy in Lenzerheide, that he can still handle it well,” said Liensberger from Styria. His first redeeming victory has already been announced: “He has narrowly lost a couple of times in slalom, in Semmering or Zagreb for example. Now, of course, it’s great that he secures the first win and that with relative confidence. take off my hat! “
Everyone in the ÖSV team was happy with Liensberger. “It’s just for her. She works really hard to get there,” said Katharina Gallhuber, who was ninth in the top ten on Saturday for the first time this season. “And when you have someone like that on the team, that gives a boost. I think it’s really cool that I can compete with Kathi in practice. I want to get closer to the top of the world step by step,” added the bronze. Olympia 2018 winner.
Just the beginning
“I grant him that from the bottom of my heart because he works with such precision and passion that his swing is getting faster and faster,” said Marie-Therese Sporer, who had her best World Cup weekend with 19th places and twenty. For the 24-year-old, who had to digest serious injuries, this should only have been the beginning. The second round on Saturday also gave him hope: “The middle section was sensational. I was four tenths away from Petra (Vlhova; note). Now is the time to do it from top to bottom.”
