Image: APA/EXPA/Johann Groder
“He is the measure of all things. A lot has to go right for us to beat him,” said Austria’s men’s head coach Marko Pfeifer, who is hoping for a better start to the season than in 2022, when Marco Schwarz was the best in 13th place. Sölden. With four runners in the top 15 of the 2022/23 season ranking – 4th Schwarz, 11th Stefan Brennsteiner, 12th Manuel Feller and 15th Raphael Haaser – the Austrian association did much better than the picture after Sölden had shown . When Schwarz won in Palisades Tahoe, two more runners, Brennsteiner in fifth and Haaser in ninth, made it into the top 10. Pfeifer would like to have more of such compact performances this winter, as he explained.
In any case, Black, who was third in the World Cup, was ready. In the best case scenario, he will start with a performance like in January in the second Schladming round, when the Carinthian climbed from intermediate place 14 to third with the best time. “That was an aha moment, after that a lot of things were easier. I hope that I have the same feeling as I did from the middle of last season, I would be happy.”
Schwarz finished 13th twice in Sölden, and Manuel Feller didn’t get past 12th, 15th and 16th place either. “The experienced ones have already been hit on the lid a few times, there is room for improvement. We should go in with this attitude,” said Pfeifer. The ÖSV team has been waiting for a home win in Sölden since 2014 and Marcel Hirscher.
“Sölden wasn’t my favorite place, you can’t start the season much worse than in previous years,” said Feller. Pfeifer attested to a calmness in the athlete that he didn’t yet know how to interpret. “My wife has already said that. I don’t know whether that’s good or bad. I feel relatively relaxed,” said Feller. “Basically I know what I have to do so that I can be quick.”
Brennsteiner was once found in the Pitztal before Odermatt. “It’s cool that I beat him there. But you have to put it completely into perspective, I drove with number one and he with twelve.” His goal is to start the season at a higher level than in previous years. The criterion for him in Sölden is the final part. “I’ve lost a little love for the flat bottom. I hope I’ll find it again on Sunday.”
Kriechmayr also at the start
Vincent Kriechmayr takes his start “very seriously”; it is one with foresight, as according to the calendar the speed riders have a five-week break from mid-February. The Upper Austrian does not rule out a trip to the USA for the technology races. “Last year he was very fast in Sölden, then he made a mistake on the flat. Top 10 would have been possible,” recalled the head coach.
Because young hopeful Joshua Sturm was unable to take part in the glacier event due to a torn meniscus in his right knee, Roland Leitinger joined the team. “I’m guaranteed to have a bad starting number over 50 and have to come up from behind the field again. The goal is to clear the qualifying hurdle for the second round,” said the Salzburg man, who came second in Sölden in 2021, a few weeks later tore his cruciate ligament during training and has been fighting to keep up ever since.
Odermatt is definitely the tone setter. He is a bit nervous because in Sölden you never know where you stand. “In the end, it’s a race like any other with the same goal: skiing fast. I feel good, I’m healthy, but a lot can always happen.” Behind him, the best giant slalomists of last winter were Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR), Zan Kranjec (SLO), Schwarz, Alexis Pinturault (FRA), Loic Meillard (SUI) and Lucas Braathen. The Norwegian will be missing on Sunday after his surprising end to his career.
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Source: Nachrichten
