The centenarian who wants to move around on boards in the snow finds himself increasingly limited in his radius of action. The anniversary program for the big birthday that the World Ski Federation (FIS) had planned for the weekend became a remaining Alpine program. It only consisted of a slalom, which seemed far too easy for the World Cup.
Rhythmic swinging on the “Verte” slope against a green backdrop. That’s not a challenge for a top driver like Linus Straßer, who prefers things icy and difficult, as he recently proved with his victories in Kitzbühel and Schladming. “It’s relatively easy to drive, but not easy to be fast,” he said on Sunday in Chamonix: “You always have the feeling that you have to do more.”
A statement that fit the entire ski weekend. What was presented did not correspond to the desired high-gloss sport that the FIS had imagined. The ski association was founded in Chamonix at the foot of Mont Blanc exactly 100 years ago. However, the two runs that were planned for Friday and Saturday to celebrate the anniversary had to be canceled due to the lack of snow and the warm temperatures.
And the women’s speed races planned at the same time in Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the foot of the Zugspitze also fell victim to the weather. Replacement organizers could not be found for any of the events, although it was clear a week ago that the conditions at both locations would not allow races.
“For the love of snow sports since 1924” is the FIS anniversary slogan. But it seems questionable how long this love will last given climate change and the current weather situation in the ski-loving Alpine region. The centenarian is in danger of running out of vitality like the slalom slope runs out of grip in the spring sun on Sunday.
Linus Straßer: “You always have the feeling that more needs to be done” : Image: dpa
A winter sports week once took place in Chamonix in January 1924, which was subsequently ennobled as the first Winter Olympics. At the time, medals were awarded in seven sports, including curling and five-man bobsleigh, military patrol and cross-country skiing, but not in alpine skiing. And even at the birth of the FIS, which was founded on February 2, 1924 by 36 delegates from 14 nations, the Alpines were still on the sidelines. It was not until 1930, at the request of Great Britain, that the association integrated downhill, slalom and the then popular alpine combination into the competition schedule.
Yule takes advantage of the conditions
A hundred years later, the Alpine skiing as an attraction for the whole of skiing is now apparently not only lacking suitable venues, as illustrated by the skew of six cancellations out of seven completed runs on just four slopes. They are also losing international stars. In the men’s race, top riders Marco Schwarz, Alexis Pinturault and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde have been out with serious injuries in recent weeks. They will be missing for the rest of the winter. In addition to the health of the athletes, the tension in the World Cup was also lost with their falls: the overall victory of the Swiss Marco Odermatt, who is well ahead of the Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin (684) with 1,406 points, is more or less certain after just over half the winter .
Things don’t look much better for women. Within a few days, Olympic champions Petra Vlhová (slalom) and Corinne Suter (downhill) suffered cruciate ligament tears. At least the American all-rounder Mikaela Shiffrin (1209 points), who rushed into the fences on the descent in Cortina, seems to be able to make her comeback this week, so that the Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami (1114) will not slide towards a victory without resistance .
Achim Dreis Published/Updated: Recommendations: 9 Achim Dreis, Kitzbühel Published/Updated: Recommendations: 14 Achim Dreis, Kitzbühel Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1
In the slalom on Sunday, the Swiss Daniel Yule took advantage of the soapy conditions and raced from 30th place to victory in the second round. This has never happened before in the hundred-year history of the Alps. Straßer “pushed his boots” in the second round and improved from 17th to 14th place. “It didn’t feel that bad,” he said afterwards. But nothing more.