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Austrian podium sweep in Saalbach
After winning 9 medals at the recently concluded World Championships in Vail Beaver Creek, yet failing to place an athlete in the top 10 of the downhill, the Austrian team has redeemed themselves in front of the home crowd. At the first post World Championships race in Saalbach, three Austrians topped the downhill race standings, to the delight of the 10,000 fans cheering along the course.
The Austrians, who along the Norwegian and German team had a chance to train on the Schneekristall course prior to the official training runs were the clear race day favorites as they showcased some great skiing on Thursday and Friday but a podium sweep was hard to predict. And if one might have thought that todays result was completely influenced by the “extra” training runs taken by the Austrian, the fastest of them will prove you wrong.
“ I have not trained on this hill with the team before the official training runs as I was in Beaver Creek for the giant slalom qualifications, so I have had only two training runs before the race like most of the other guys,” Mayer explained. “The light today was, of course, very flat,” Mayer continued. “It was much more difficult than the training runs. You couldn’t see the rolls and bumps today. It was really tough, and you had to risk everything.”
It’s a particularly sweet victory for Mayer who had been knocking on the door of the top step of the podium multiple times this year but has been missing a top position ever since his Olympic victory in Sochi last February.
“I finished second place this year three times, and I was fourth in the super G at World Champs — so I’m very happy about this win today. To be on the podium with two teammates makes this race event more special. It’s an awesome feeling for us today.”
Max Franz second place today proved bitter-sweet as he was close to locking his first career’s victory after a great run; but a small mistake in the top section of the course proved costly and the young Austrian completed his run a mere 0.02 seconds slower than Mayer.
“Two hundredths — damn. I didn’t have a very good run up top,” said Franz. “I didn’t have a very good first split and that’s where I lost the race today. The last part was really fast.”
Rounding out the Austrian podium today was super-G World Champion Hannes Reichelt who skied a smooth and not too risky run to finish 0.21 behind Mayer.
After skiing the fastest opening training run on Thursday, Kjetil Jansrud didn’t make things any easier for himself in the chase for the overall title. The Norwegian trailed Marcel Hirscher by 180 points emerging from the World Championship hiatus. With a disappointing 14th-place result, Jansrud was able to make a slight 18-point gain, resulting in a 162-point deficit currently. He will have a second chance to increase his lead as on Sunday a super G is scheduled in Saalbach.
Source: fis-ski.com
The Austrians, who along the Norwegian and German team had a chance to train on the Schneekristall course prior to the official training runs were the clear race day favorites as they showcased some great skiing on Thursday and Friday but a podium sweep was hard to predict. And if one might have thought that todays result was completely influenced by the “extra” training runs taken by the Austrian, the fastest of them will prove you wrong.
“ I have not trained on this hill with the team before the official training runs as I was in Beaver Creek for the giant slalom qualifications, so I have had only two training runs before the race like most of the other guys,” Mayer explained. “The light today was, of course, very flat,” Mayer continued. “It was much more difficult than the training runs. You couldn’t see the rolls and bumps today. It was really tough, and you had to risk everything.”
It’s a particularly sweet victory for Mayer who had been knocking on the door of the top step of the podium multiple times this year but has been missing a top position ever since his Olympic victory in Sochi last February.
“I finished second place this year three times, and I was fourth in the super G at World Champs — so I’m very happy about this win today. To be on the podium with two teammates makes this race event more special. It’s an awesome feeling for us today.”
Max Franz second place today proved bitter-sweet as he was close to locking his first career’s victory after a great run; but a small mistake in the top section of the course proved costly and the young Austrian completed his run a mere 0.02 seconds slower than Mayer.
“Two hundredths — damn. I didn’t have a very good run up top,” said Franz. “I didn’t have a very good first split and that’s where I lost the race today. The last part was really fast.”
Rounding out the Austrian podium today was super-G World Champion Hannes Reichelt who skied a smooth and not too risky run to finish 0.21 behind Mayer.
After skiing the fastest opening training run on Thursday, Kjetil Jansrud didn’t make things any easier for himself in the chase for the overall title. The Norwegian trailed Marcel Hirscher by 180 points emerging from the World Championship hiatus. With a disappointing 14th-place result, Jansrud was able to make a slight 18-point gain, resulting in a 162-point deficit currently. He will have a second chance to increase his lead as on Sunday a super G is scheduled in Saalbach.
Source: fis-ski.com
