Berlin – The days were almost intoxicated. Silver, silver, silver and bronze, one medal more surprising than the other. But this very successful World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo in February is already a thing of the past for the alpines of the German Ski Association (DSV). When the World Cup starts again at the weekend in Sölden, Austria, as it does every year, the 2022 Olympics in Beijing are already casting their shadows. Every race is about qualifying for the games: in order to be able to take part in Beijing, the German women and men have to be in the top eight or twice in the top 15 in the World Cup.
“There are no problems”, said Alpine boss Wolfgang Maier with a smile before the giant slalom races for women (Saturday, 10 am + 1:15 pm) and men (Sunday, 10 am + 1:30 pm, ARD and Eurosport) on the weekend in Sölden. That is a question of perspective, because the Germans are actually not in such good shape at the start of the season: In any case, no miracles are to be expected from the quintet that the DSV is sending in these first two races.
Stefan Luitz and Alexander Schmid do not guarantee a good start
For Andrea Filser, at least third in the World Cup with the team, Marlene Schmotz and Julian Rauchfuß, the first thing to do is to even qualify for the second run of the top 30. Qualification for the Olympics does not seem to be achievable at the controversial early start of the season on the glacier on the Rettenbachferner. The two top drivers Stefan Luitz and Alexander Schmid do not guarantee a good start to the season either.
Luitz and Schmid were also awarded bronze in the team competition at the World Cup, but Sölden is probably not much more than a warm-up program with no great prospect of success. Luitz achieved a 14th place as the best result on the Rettenbach Glacier, but still has a positive view of the first competition of the Olympic winter. “I’m looking forward to the start and want to ski well with full commitment, attack and self-confidence,” said Luitz. The preparation in the summer was good.
The Allgäuer starts with new material. “I found a setup, made kilometers and feel good on the skis,” he said after the training days on the slope in Sölden. Schmid, who was on the verge of winning a medal in the giant slalom at the World Cup, has been suffering from an annoying tendon irritation in his left knee since the beginning of summer training. “The race in Sölden comes a little too early, but I definitely want to be there at the start,” he said.
Nevertheless, Maier hopes for top results from the “tech guys”, including Linus Straßer. For him, the World Cup doesn’t really start until the slalom starts at the end of December. Success is therefore initially promised by the strong downhill riders around the World Cup runners-up Romed Baumann (Super-G) and Andreas Sander (Downhill), who will not intervene in the World Cup in North America until the end of November.
“So far, what we’re doing is good,” said Maier about the men, although the uncertainty about Thomas Dreßen’s sporting future remains. The best German downhill skier and Kitzbühel winner of 2018 is fighting to continue his career. He is suffering from the consequential damage of a major fall at the end of November 2018 in Beaver Creek / USA. His right knee has been damaged since then. When and if he will come back at all is questionable. “I’m not interested in a schedule right now, I’m just interested in what’s useful for the knee. It’s not about whether I’ll come back one race sooner or later, but about getting my knee back at all, ”he said last week.
First of all without Thomas Dreßen and Josef Ferstl
It is by no means the only setback for the alpine men. Josef Ferstl will also be out for the next few weeks due to a leg injury. The Kitzbühel winner from 2019 suffered a fascia tear in his thigh during giant slalom training on Monday, as the 32-year-old announced on Instagram on Tuesday. “3 to 4 weeks compulsory break,” wrote Ferstl. In addition, the Traunsteiner posted a picture from a treatment room of the Bundesliga soccer club FC Bayern Munich, on which his thickly bandaged thigh could also be seen.
And with women? “At the moment we only have the Kira,” says Maier of Kira Weidle, sensational runner-up in the World Cup downhill. But she too will not enter the World Cup until December in North America. And so Maier is initially just his standard saying about Sölden: “If we drive well, we say we have done everything right, if we do not drive so well, we say, now we have a little more to do.”