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In Val d’Isère, the first men’s sprinting races of the season are on the program. Who is the favorite? And how many races are there in total? An overview.
Legend:
The best Swiss trump card
Beat Feuz.
Keystone
Alpine races in North America were canceled early by the FIS due to the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, the start of the World Cup in men’s sprinting will take place in the French Alps rather than the Canadian Rockies. A Super-G is on the program in Val d’Isère on Saturday and a descent on Sunday.
Strong and spacious Swiss squad
Beat Feuz won the small crystal ball for best descent three times in a row and is the safest Swiss value in the supreme discipline. In the last 3 seasons, the Emmentaler has accumulated no less than 20 podium spots (6 wins) in 26 Downhill World Cup starts. He was always ranked in the top 8. Last winter, Carlo Janka (twice third), Urs Kryenbühl (once second) and Mauro Caviezel (once third) also took the first three places. Niels Hintermann was also one of the top 15 alpine skiers last season.
The situation in the Super-G
Thanks to Mauro Caviezel, the little crystal ball also went to Switzerland in the second fast discipline last winter. The man from Graubünden took the podium three times. Caviezel is already back at the start in Val d’Isère despite a torn left Achilles tendon in June. The only Swiss Super-G winner of the 2019/2020 season was Odermatt, who surprisingly drove to his first World Cup win at Beaver Creek. For his part, Feuz is much less consistent in the Super-G, in 6 races he was never better than 5.
Legend:
You can rely on him a lot in sprinting.
Marco Odermatt.
Keystone
International competition
Before breaking the cruciate ligament in his right knee during Super-G training in Austria in January, Dominik Paris Feuz was the biggest opponent in the fight for the Downhill World Cup. Now the Italian is returning. The strong duo of ÖSV Vincent Kriechmayr and Matthias Mayer, as well as World Cup winner Aleksander Kilde and downhill world champion Kjetil Jansrud from Norway must always be considered.
How many sprint races are there this season?
The Men’s World Cup features 9 downhill races and 7 super-Gs. 4 of these races will take place in Switzerland, namely 2 downhill races in Wengen (15/16 January) plus one downhill each and a Super-G in the final of the World Cup in Lenzerheide (17/18 of March).
The latest winners in Val d’Isère
While women compete in sprint races almost every year at the French ski resort, men last raced on the Oreiller-Killy track in December 2016. The winner at that time in downhill was as Super-G Kjetil Jansrud. The best Swiss in Super-G were Carlo Janka (4th) and Beat Feuz (6th), as well as former retired world champion Patrick Küng (7th) downhill.
Legend:
Best Swiss 4 years ago
Carlo Janka finished fourth in the last men’s Super-G in Val d’Isère.
Keystone
