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If Peter Schröcksnadel’s facial features had not been covered by the mandatory protection of the mouth and nose, there certainly would not have been a smile. The Austrian Ski Association president was quite grumpy about the worst performance at the Rettenbachferner since the introduction of World Cup racing in 1993.
“We’re not happy, that’s completely unsatisfactory. Sölden doesn’t suit us,” the 79-year-old Tyrolean said after the season opener. On Saturday Katharina Truppe achieved the best result for Red-White-Red at 15th place, yesterday 17th place was the best for Stefan Brennsteiner. Still, that’s too little for ÖSV’s high demands, which will not change: “Our goal is and will be to get the Nations Cup back. Maybe some of us will wake up when we pass one,” said Schröcksnadel.
“A disaster”
In the past season, Switzerland broke 30 years of Austrian rule. And since festivals have to be celebrated as they happen, the archrival had special caps with the inscription “Ski-Nation Nr. 1”. Not without good reason, as the opening weekend demonstrated.
Unlike the women of Italy (Marta Bassino) and the men of Norway (Lucas Braathen), the Swiss ski team did not celebrate a victory, but has already taken the lead in the team classification. The Swiss have accumulated 340 points, Austria is sixth with a modest 76 points. Also because a hopeful like Marco Schwarz (39th) left empty-handed. “It is a catastrophe for me,” confessed the 25-year-old Carinthian.
Nothing has changed, the giant slalom remains the Achilles heel of the ÖSV teams. Self-criticism is the first path to improvement, and there is no shortage of that. Vincent Kriechmayr (TVN Sparkasse Wels) is generally not scrupulous with himself. The Gramastetten speed star also finds a fly in the ointment when others certify that it has flawless handling. Yesterday wasn’t perfect, but it’s okay.
The 29-year-old not only landed in 24th place in his first head-bar race against his new stablemate Matthias Mayer (25th), but just missed his best World Cup result in this discipline ( 23 at St. Moritz 2016) past. “I wanted to score points, I did. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to take advantage of my good start number in race two. I have to improve if I want to be up front,” Kriechmayr said.
Two-time Olympic champion Mayer accused himself of not being “aggressive enough” in the final. However, the joke runs between “Mothl” and “Vinc”. The two agreed that Kriechmayr Mayer would buy a kebab pizza. “It is our tradition that the best pays,” Kriechmayr said.
Successful experiment
Women’s race director Christian Mitter gave a higher note: “15, 17, 19, that’s not what we expected. After the first race, we wanted to accelerate again and improve. All five failed. I had never seen it before. That it hurts, “said the Styrian. For Elisa Mörzinger (SU Böhmerwald) the working day ended in half the time. In 37th place, Altenfeldenerin separated 82 hundredths from the final of the top 30.
See image gallery
Image gallery: double Italian victory in Sölden – battered ÖSV women
Photo: JOE KLAMAR (AFP)
Horrible, boring, strange, it took me a little to get used to; Those were the reactions of the ski aces to the ghost races related to the crown. The smooth running of the event, attended by only 50 of the 200 “special guests” invited, fuels hopes for a continuation of the season in the “bubble”. “Sölden has shown that winter sports are possible even in difficult conditions,” emphasized Schröcksnadel.
Saturday’s TV ratings were good too. Up to 501,000 ski fans watched the second women’s race at ORF 1.
Lucas Braathen, the Austrian specialist
A Norwegian won the men’s giant slalom in Sölden. No, not co-favorite Henrik Kristoffersen (5th), but Lucas Braathen, who had never been on the podium at the World Cup before. The Rettenbachferner is a good glacier for the 20-year-old, here he first appeared in 2019 as sixth. “Obviously I like to drive in Austria,” smiled the young man, who was a strong fourth at the Kitzbühel slalom in January.
The coronation followed yesterday. “It is incredible to win. Now I want to establish myself on top of the world, ”said Braathen, who avoided a double Swiss victory. Marco Odermatt (23), who is trusted to play a major role in the overall World Cup, finished second, five hundredths behind, and Gino Caviezel (28) third. “I knew that it was still possible to do many things on the sports field. I’ve worked on that, ”said Odermatt, who hadn’t taken a day off during the summer. His fitness trainer even “moved in” with him for a month.
Hard work pays off, also for Italian skiers. Marta Bassino (24) and Federica Brignone (30), winners of the great crystal ball in the 2019/20 season, started with a double victory. It was his first with the “Ladies” in Sölden since 2010. At that time, Viktoria Rebensburg and Kathrin Hölzl had triumphed for Germany. “It’s perfect for us,” Bassino said happily.
Article of
Alexander Zambarloukos
Sports editor
