2024-01-22 22:35:00

The mood might hardly have been more different. While Linus Straßer became the next German slalom king on the Ganslernhang ten years following Felix Neureuther, the German downhill skiers were in for a bit of gloom.

On both Friday and Saturday only two DSV athletes made it into the points, Dominik Schwaiger’s 14th place was the highest of all feelings.

The spheres in which Cyprien Sarrazin and Marco Odermatt move currently seem unattainable.

“Competitive sport is a fast-paced, daily business in which certain results are not easy to explain and the pendulum can quickly swing in the other direction,” explained Eurosport expert Fritz Dopfer in an exclusive interview.

Dopfer calls for a vacuum cleaner representative mentality

Despite the poor results so far, Dopfer sees the downhill skiers around Romed Baumann, Dominik Schwaiger and Co. in the right hands. “National coach Christian Schwaiger and discipline coach Andreas Evers are absolute experts in their field,” said the 2015 slalom runner-up world champion. “The coaching team is experienced and has been highly successful in the past.”

According to Dopfer, the athletes themselves are their biggest critics. However, constant questioning can also have a negative effect. “If the hoped-for results don’t come immediately, you become impatient and the negative spiral continues,” says Dopfer.

Romed Baumann

Fotocredit: Getty Images

To get to the heart of the German speed riders’ dilemma, the 36-year-old used a metaphor from former soccer coach Christoph Daum.

“The vacuum cleaner representative doesn’t sell a vacuum cleaner at every door. He rings the bell three or four times in vain. But on the fifth or sixth attempt he is successful. Then the knot is broken,” he quoted the former Bayer Leverkusen trainer.

If Dopfer has his way, the German speed team has to orientate itself on this attitude. “In the end, you need this vacuum cleaner salesman mentality coupled with the necessary relaxedness.”

Dopfer: DSV can cope with Dreßen’s resignation

The resignation of Thomas Dreßen further aggravates the situation for the German downhill skiers, following all, the 2018 Kitzbühel triumph leaves big shoes to fill.

According to Dopfer, however, the DSV has enough quality to compensate for Dreßen’s loss – even if the meager return of only one top 10 place so far is anything but optimistic.

“This is a bitter loss for the speed team because Thomas consistently delivered top performances,” said Dopfer. “This situation is also an opportunity for all other members of the speed team to close the gap.”

The DSV team is collectively strong enough to “overcome this situation. All athletes are seasoned types and personalities who have all experienced a lot of highs, but at the same time also had to endure some low points. That shapes you as an athlete and makes you resilient.”

Dreßen celebrates an emotional farewell: “We bow”

However, finding the cause of the DSV downhill skiers’ sporting slump is proving to be extremely difficult – especially when viewed from the outside.

“As an athlete, you don’t have time to correct basic errors during the competition phase,” Dopfer gave an insight. If the season is already underway, the analysis only takes place in detail. But here too there are many ways out of the crisis.

“You can only make changes to the setup or technique in homeopathic doses. Ask Henrik Kristoffersen or Loic Meillard,” says Dopfer.

“It was always helpful for me when things didn’t work to go back to the setup that I had a good feeling regarding last time,” he continued. “What’s interesting is that it’s often just small nuances.”

What was that!? Baumann fails at the first departure gate

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