A big weekend has passed. It's been last World Cup weekend before Schladming's World Championships.
The biggest stage in men's calendar, the real "classic", the Grand Slam of alpine skiing.
And so did also women' stage, in the home country of the undisputed leader of this season.
There won't be mass suicides. Local heroes saved many lifes in extremis.
Doesn't matter what media say, no one will ever change a 1st place in Kitzbuehel with a World Championship or an Olympic gold medal.
Same importance to the race is given by Austria, as a nation - alpine skiing is their national sport, if England, Italy, Spain etc... choke a football world cup the manager is saked and there's a big scandal and all the fuss, if Austria Ski Team choke in Kitz, it's the same.
Friday
Svindal from Norway wins the Super-G, ahead of Mayer a young austrian and Innerhofer, Italy and downhill winner just the week befor in Wengen.
Svindal little reduce the gap from Hirscher in the Overall Standing and secures his leading in the Super-G Standing.
Along with the domination in the time trial during the week Svindal is bookies big favourite for the downhill.
My thinking is that "the viking" actually suffers some kind of pressure in these big races, like he said in his blog after Wengen:
Seems like there is something about Wengen. I really want to get a good result here, but cant seem to make that happen.He's never won in both, nor made the podium, in the Downhill.
Saturday
Ladies are in Maribor, and there's a big crowd and also the President, all cheering the World Cup leader Tina Maze, from Slovenia.
Giant-Slalom is her favourite discipline, and she's mastering it this season: starting the season with four victories in a row and then a 3rd and a 2nd place in last two.
Snow condition and the easy slope didn't help, plus american and Vonn's coach setting the course for the second run, silenced the crowd.
Lindsey Vonn overcame Tina Maze by only .08s. Vonn
Anna Fenninger, winner in Semmering, made 3rd place.
In the disappointment fog was little noticed that Maze has won the Giant-Slalom Cup
But what the whole alpine skiing world was waiting for was the Downhill on the Streif, Kitzbuehel.
Svindal, as said, was the big bookies's favourite, and with reason, but he also seems to feel pressure in big and classic events. Raichelt and Kroell were considered his biggest opponents, while Innerhofer had higher odds for his penalty (started as #45).
Max Franz starting with bib #4 made a run near flawlessness and his leading survived to many starts.
When also some top racers from the second group as Jansrud and Theaux went behind, austrian crowd was pinching for the wildest dream was about to come true; Franz's run definitely was an excellent one.
First group.Top skiers starting.
#16 austrian Kroell is behind.
#17 frenchmen top speed recorder Clarey was .33 ahead at last intermediate but lands in the nets at the Traverse, just before the Hahnenkamm Schuss and the red finish line.
#18 Svindal has to run a come back, and reduce his gap little by little, but eventually is behind.
But when the worst seems passed...
#20 (#19 was Innerhofer) Paris plays a bad trick silencing the crowd
#21 Guay follows closely, and Austria and Franz's dreams become nightmares and there's the risk to neither gain a podium.
 |
| Downhill podium: 1)Paris (ita), 2)Guay (can), 3) Reichelt (aut) |
Paris, Guay and Reichelt stands in leader corner waiting for Innerhofer's run, but it was already darkened and there were worse visibility and contrast, ended 20th (actually 20th place only after Sporn was disqualified for some technical irregularity in his skis).
Sunday
Both sex racing slalom in this day.
And in both attendances that pretending feeling that everything was good the day before, the idol has done good anyway.
Ladies, Maribor:
Bookies and common thinking was that 17yo Shiffrin in last appearences has showed that sort of superiority that among the men belongs to Hirscher. She can run riskless but aggressively.
Hansdotter follows but not closely.
Again Maze takes the lead in the first run, while Shiffrin skied badly far from her fluidity.
Hansdotter is just behind, and then Zettel who took advantage of her #1 bib and Zuzulova #3.
This time there's no trick in the second run, Maze showed her superiority and from the starting gate it was clear that she would run offensively, not doing math. Eventually she recorded the best time also in the second run.
Hansdotter were consistence enough, but again she must postpone her first career win.
3rd place to Zettel.
Maze litterally screamed slovenian anthem, she's also a good singer.
Men, Kitzbuehel:
Hirscher again was bib #1. His odds were unplayable, and also on paper only contender looked Neureuther.
His run1 was just scholastic, with the semplicity of the gesture only he can show while being aggressive.
So big surprise when italian Gross, #3, got the lead and his run resisted to #4, the german Neureuther.
#5 Mario Matt, Austria, loses the plot and goes out... at this point some axes came out of nowhere to be sharpened.
Some numbers later also Byggmark, from Sweden, #8, passed Hirscher and much later on italian Razzoli, #18, made a double italian lead going behind Gross just of .07s. Hirscher was ousted from podium.
What's new in Hirscher compared to last season in the consistecy and, what makes him Slalom's no.1 is his second run.
Though the big pressure, his run is flawless, there are no major corrections in his line, no mistakes, and though this he's fast, and records the best time of the run.
He's leading before Neureuther and Kostelic; the croatian has also won the Combined.
Three racer still to start.
Byggmark, makes little mistakes here and there.Razzoli and Gross, fail the same gate, both arrive with too much speed on the edge of an hump and the following jump makes them land off the optimal line, struggling to pass the next gate and losing speed for the final section.
Everyone in the podium wears a big smile.
And crowd can go nut, for an austrian finally winning in Kitzbuehel.
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