2024-02-16 15:43:09
Difficult external circumstances have to be dealt with this weekend at the Ski World Cup in Kvitfjell. Fresh snow fell again on the piste on which the penultimate descent of this alpine season is to be skied. During the extremely shortened training session on Friday, Adrian Smiseth Sejersted and Cyprien Sarrazin fell and were injured. Despite everything, Vincent Kriechmayr wants to make the best of the situation. “I really want to be on the podium again,” he said.
Sarrazin, who spectacularly won both Kitzbühel downhill runs in January, suffered a traumatic injury to his left calf, according to the French Ski Association. He won’t be able to compete in a race at the weekend, which could help Marco Odermatt crucially in the fight for the downhill crystal ball.
According to initial information, Sejersted, who came into very soft snow, suffered a shoulder injury on Friday. He was the only reasonably experienced speed pilot in the Norwegian team. In order to protect the piste, only the top part of the route up to the Russi jump, which was left out on Thursday, was used in the mini-training session. So on Saturday the descent could cover the entire length of the route. There will be a Super-G on Sunday (12 p.m./live ORF 1).
The fastest in the final training was the Frenchman Ken Caillot, who narrowly left his compatriot Adrien Fresquet behind in the 50-second race with two demanding corners. The best Austrian was Otmar Striedinger in 15th, Raphael Haaser was 16th and Kriechmayr 22nd. Stefan Rieser was listed in 32nd. With regard to the race, the list of results has practically no meaning.
The slope was “already on the softer side,” said Kriechmayr. “These are not my circumstances,” said the Swiss World Cup leader Odermatt, who has never been better than 13th in Kvitfjell. Despite the freezing temperatures overnight, the organizers were unable to create a compact surface. On flat terrain it is difficult to slide out the fresh snow; the base may not be very resilient.
In the Downhill World Cup, Odermatt and Sarrazin are only separated by six points. In Kvitfjell the decision could therefore be made prematurely if Odermatt wins. The duel for the crystal ball will probably only get really serious at the finale in Saalbach in mid-March. For Kriechmayr and the other athletes in the ÖSV squad, which has been weakened due to injuries, it is still about a reconciliatory end to the season. Kriechmayr is still without a win or a podium finish in the downhill race this winter. The last time he remained without a podium was in the 2016/17 season.
The Upper Austrian won the Super-G in Val Gardena in December ahead of his compatriot Daniel Hemetsberger, whose season has already ended due to a knee injury. If Odermatt wins or comes second on Sunday, he will be assured of the Super-G ball for the second time in a row. Any other result that leaves the gap between the Swiss and the Austrian over 100 points (currently 121) is also enough for Odermatt. In addition, the defending champion could even be de facto the overall winner due to the remaining program of his pursuers on Sunday.
“I’m certainly in the outsider role, but I’ve been able to shine in the role a few times and failed in the role of favorite. That doesn’t matter,” Kriechmayr explained his initial situation. He believes that Odermatt, who, like Pirmin Zurbriggen (1986/87) and Hermann Maier (1999/2000 and 2000/01) can win four crystal balls in one winter, can do anything. “But of course I hope that we can at least bend it there.” The deciding factor is mental. “He has such incredible confidence and makes things look very easy where we might be struggling.”
A fan of the Kvitfjell downhill run is Rieser, who has been here several times in the European Cup and was third at the award ceremony in 2020. “It’s my favorite descent of the ones I know,” said the Salzburg native, who is still waiting for his breakthrough in the World Cup. “I would have actually thought that it would be quicker to go from being a junior world champion to becoming an established downhill skier in the World Cup,” said the 25-year-old, who wants to secure a permanent starting place in the European Cup next year.
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