Historic ÖSV flop in the giant slalom in Jasna: No ÖSV runner in the classification

The Tyrolean was eliminated in the second round on Saturday, meaning that for the first time since March 13, 1985 in Lake Placid, no ÖSV runner made it into the rankings of a World Cup giant slalom. The Swede Sara Hector took victory in a bizarre-looking race in a superior manner ahead of US top star Mikaela Shiffrin (+1.52 seconds) and New Zealander Alice Robinson (+2.71).

Vlhova injured herself when she fell

An injury to Petra Vlhova marred the Slovakian ski festival. Thousands of fans flocked to the track to see their idol. But before the decision, many of the orange bobble hats had taken off in disappointment; Vlhova was eliminated early in the first Alpine World Cup race in her country in almost three years. After 15 seconds of driving in the first round, the top star slipped on the inner ski. The left knee appears to be affected. She was transported away in the Akia and underwent more detailed examinations in the hospital. Her participation in the slalom on Sunday (9:30 a.m./12:15 p.m.) was questionable.

The ÖSV runners in particular have a lot to do well there. They had a particularly difficult time on the surface, which made perfect coordination of the material difficult. Only Haaser (+3.92) initially remained less than five (!) seconds behind on the unusually fast turning course. Only Shiffrin (+1.00 seconds) and Robinson (+1.05) were able to keep up with Olympic champion Hector, who went to work unfazed by the black ice. Tenth-placed Kajsa Vickhoff Lie was an incredible 5.52 seconds behind in the final tally.

For nine out of ten Austrians, the working day was over after a trip. The last time there was only one ÖSV athlete in a giant slalom World Cup classification was on November 21, 1996 in Park City – but at that time Antina Wachter was in second place. Even that mark didn’t last. Haaser, who was twelfth at halftime, slipped on the inside ski with almost a second lead.

“I’m not surprised that I’m behind”

Julia Scheib (38th/+5.70), Franziska Gritsch (43rd/+5.82), Katharina Liensberger (47th/+6.22) and Katharina Troupe (50th/+6.40) fluctuated emotionally Disbelief and anger. “If you see 5.70 seconds behind at the finish, what else can you say? But the deficit doesn’t surprise me because I just slid away from the first gate, I had no grip,” said the completely exhausted Scheib.

“It’s brutal to drive, very, very slippery,” explained Gritsch. Hector, who celebrated her first win since 2022 at Kronplatz, said: “I think the slope is great, it’s icy, but nice with grip. I had so much fun skiing here today.” For Shiffrin, the matter was a question of trust and strength. “I think with this unique surface you have to feel 100 percent safe. If you don’t feel that, you lose a lot of time.” The American also said: “You have to be very strong in your legs.”

The previous discipline leader Federica Brignone (ITA) slipped off the course even earlier than Vlhova. The new leader after seven of eleven races this season is Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI), who is sixth on the day.

Ex-runner Nicole Hosp also didn’t see the finish during her tracking shot, and the Tyrolean was subsequently missing from ORF as a co-commentator. She was said to have pain in her knee.