Neither rain nor a difficult slope nor a strong Norwegian can stop Linus Straßer in Schladming. The Munich slalom ace wins again after Kitzbühel and writes German ski history. A review.
Linus Straßer is in the form of his life and is astonishing the Alpine people. After the floodlit victory in Schladming just three days after the coup in Kitzbühel, even the Munich native was searching for words. “It couldn’t be better,” said the 31-year-old about the classic double in Austria, which he completed with nerve-racking nerves on the Planai on Wednesday evening.
The technology specialist, who drives for 1860 Munich, also wrote German ski history in northern Styria. From now on he is the first German to win the two prestigious goal runs in Kitzbühel and Schladming one after the other. Not even the most successful DSV slalom skiers were able to achieve this: Felix Neureuther and Armin Bittner.
On Bittner’s trail
In the all-time German winners list, Straßer caught up with the recently retired Streif winner Thomas Dreßen with five successes – four slaloms and one city event. In front of him are only Neureuther (13), Markus Wasmeier (9) and Bittner (7), who was the last German before Straßer, who achieved World Cup victories in two consecutive slalom races. That was 24 years ago. And Bittner won the little crystal ball that season…
Straßer’s ideas over the past few days suggest that further victories could follow. The father of the family said he felt “bulletproof” at the moment, i.e. invulnerable, on ORF after the victory in Schladming on Wednesday evening. “You can put whatever you want on me.” After the first run, Straßer told BR that he was “completely with me” at the start. In addition to the strength of form, there was also strength of nerves and, in the end, the repeat of the Planai triumph from 2022.
Shit, I thought to myself, now I have to step on the gas.
Linus Straßer after Haugan’s strong time
Straßer drove impressively during the floodlight spectacle. Neither pouring rain nor a difficult course setting and a tricky slope in the finale could stop the curly-haired man. He ultimately won by 0.28 seconds from the Norwegian Timon Haugan – the rest of the competition was already more than a second slower than the German. “These are moments for a lifetime,” said the triumphant.
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For the first time as the leader in the final
Even the German trainers and supervisors were amazed, as Alpin boss Wolfgang Maier reported. Haugan set a fantastic time in his second round, and Straßer heard the Norwegian team’s cheers in the starting house. “Shit, I thought to myself, now I have to step on the gas,” said Straßer afterwards with a grin. For the first time in his career, he went into a final as the leader and therefore the last starter – the pressure in front of 22,500 spectators was huge.
“And then Linus goes one better. That was an absolute top performance,” said Maier. His protégé proved that the Kitzbühel success was no coincidence. “The two victories show that Linus has now reached the absolute top of the world, and he does so with an announcement and a confidence when you look at his skiing.”
Pressure on Feller is growing
After the Austrian Manuel Feller dominated the first slaloms of the season, the momentum is now with Straßer. In the World Cup standings, the German is only 132 points behind the Tyrolean. “Skiing is very easy for me at the moment. I’m starting with a relaxed attitude. I want to maintain the momentum and carry on like this. But today we’ll celebrate first,” announced Straßer.
The next slalom is only a week and a half away (February 4th) in Chamonix, France. Then the Upper Bavarian will be one of the top favorites again.