Kriechmayr counters Neureuther: “Skiing is not evil”

2023-10-18 13:04:00

Upper Austria’s ski ace Vincent Kriechmayr was the leader of the ÖSV team last winter with four wins this season. On the sidelines of the outfitting in Salzburg, the 32-year-old spoke about skiing in times of climate change, the discussions about the World Cup calendar and his sporting ambitions for the coming ski winter, which begins in a week with the giant slalom in Sölden.

How are you feeling after your summer preparation?

Vincent Kriechmayr: I feel ready. The summer was very quiet, which I really appreciate. I got through it without any aches and pains. Chile was more modest, we had far too much snow, which we miss here. Beautiful deep snow days, but we never had icy or hard slopes.

Many people ask themselves: Do you have to fly to South America to train?

Unfortunately, Chile now has no alternative, especially for us with Sölden, when the World Cup starts so early. We used to train very well in Zermatt and Saas-Fee, but it’s remarkable how that has deteriorated in three years. It’s dramatic what’s happening to the glaciers. I was in Hintertux in July, and a month later it no longer looked great.

Former racing runner Felix Neureuther is calling for a ban on summer training on glaciers.

I don’t know exactly what he means by that statement, but Felix was just as everywhere. He knows it won’t work otherwise. Then everyone would really have to do without, but that is unlikely.

Do you find it hypocrisy to portray skiing as a contributor to the climate crisis?

Of course Formula 1 produces more CO2, but that is a cowardly excuse. Formula 1 has to do its part, skiing has to do its part as well. Let’s look at the legends of our sport or the outstanding athletes of today. The most important thing they can achieve is not medals, but encouraging many, many children and other people to take up sport. Skiing is not evil – the sport also gives something back.

What would you change?

We would have to drive longer at the back because we have the best conditions there. But it’s about TV times, the Bundesliga is playing and Formula 1 is racing again.

Would you have to adapt the calendar?

The calendar is a difficult topic. We call ourselves the Ski World Cup, and if we were to ski in Asia again, you can’t just criticize that. Japan also has some skiing history. Skiing doesn’t just take place in Europe. If everyone is in Chile in September, we could start racing there too, that has already happened. It would certainly be a point that many athletes would support. But I don’t know what the media interest is like at this time.

They won four downhills last year, but not the downhill ranking.

It doesn’t matter how many wins, at the end of the day, one bullet counts. The season was actually very good except for the start, but the goal next winter has to be: skip the zeros.

There will be two downhill runs in Kitzbühel again this year, but no Super-G.

Every nation including Austria would like to have a Super-G and a downhill. We also like to do two downhill runs, but in the future it might not be a bad idea if we listened to the athletes. But money makes the world go round.

Will you start in Sölden?

As of now, yes. During the Sölden week, however, we have the opportunity to train in Zermatt, like every other nation – so that the Swiss don’t have as much of an advantage. If I notice that I still have roadworks on the descent, I might stay in Zermatt longer and not be in Sölden.

From this season onwards, the ban on fluorine waxes imposed by the FIS applies.

The wax companies say the new ones are just as fast – a good sales pitch. I think our rubbers haven’t had any fluorine in them for the last two years, and that hardly plays a role in the sliding sections. However, the tolerance limit of the measuring device must be raised so that no one is unfairly disqualified. If you wax with fluorine, the device will work like that anyway.

Are you worried about disqualification?

Actually not, the service people usually have that under control. I think that the FIS is so clever and doesn’t want to enter into the discussion. They will find a solution so that only those who actually wax with fluorine will be disqualified.