Before the downhill skiers take center stage in Wengen and Kitzbühel, the “technical” department is in demand. The men will be guests on Saturday (giant slalom) and Sunday (slalom) at the traditional Chuenisbärgli in Adelboden, the women will be guests not far from the state border with Carinthia in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia (Saturday giant slalom, Sunday slalom).
In Adelboden, the organizers have had to contend with a spell of warm weather in the past few days – the thermometer showed 14 degrees plus – and on Wednesday there was also heavy rain. Fresh snow is expected from today, and more than 200 volunteers are on hand to prepare a slope suitable for the World Cup. The weather forecasts are poor, so local hero Marco Odermatt will not be able to ski in the sun in the Bernese Oberland.
After Marco Schwarz was out due to injury, the ÖSV team’s hopes are primarily focused on the slalom with Manuel Feller as the new team leader. In the giant slalom in Alta Badia, Patrick Feurstein was the second best Austrian after Schwarz in 18th place (second place behind Odermatt). So things are looking rather dark there.
For the women in Kranjska Gora, all eyes are on Mikaela Shiffrin. The 28-year-old American won both races in Lienz before the turn of the year and now has a total of 93 World Cup victories. So the way to the “hundred” is not far anymore.
