Vice world champion Sarah Dreier was crowned European vertical champion for the first time at the European Ski Mountaineering Championships in Flaine, France.
The 28-year-old from Salzburg lived up to her role as favorite in her flagship discipline on Thursday and won the promotion race almost 20 seconds ahead of the Italian Alba de Silvestro. Dreier needed 22:26 minutes for the approximately 500 meter climb.
“I feel very relieved. A medal was the big goal for the season and the fact that I am now European champion is really cool,” said Dreier. “I felt comfortable in the race from the start. I knew that I had to accelerate on the steep part because there was a long flat section at the end. It worked out well and I was able to really enjoy the finish.”
Dreier is crowned European champion in the vertical
Second U23 gold for Verbnjak
Gold also went to Austria in the men’s U23 competition. Paul Verbnjak had already prevailed in the individual on Monday, and the 22-year-old Carinthian now also won gold in the promotion. Verbnjak missed the podium in the overall ranking by just three seconds.
“It was an amazing day and certainly the highlight of my European Championship. I actually did all the preparation for that. It was very close to the podium places in the overall ranking, but I think I can be very, very happy with the victory in the U23.”