“If you’re just taking part in the slalom, you have to ask yourself whether it still makes sense.” Marco Schwarz made this comment shortly before the start of the season when his plan to complete all of the season’s races this winter was discussed. The fear that his involvement in the speed races would come at the expense of his slalom performance turned out to be unfounded in the last race before Christmas. After his victory on Friday in the night slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, the 28-year-old from Carinthia put on his downhill skis yesterday in the first training session in Bormio as the World Cup leader. On Thursday (Downhill) and Friday (Super-G, 11.30 a.m.) Schwarz would like to score “big points” once more in the fight for the big crystal ball.
There was almost no Christmas break for Black. One day before Christmas Eve he was on stage at the “Night of Carinthian Sports” in Casino Velden, where he was named Carinthian Sportsman of the Year. The fact that he keeps such an appointment despite a busy racing calendar shows the confidence and ease with which Schwarz is currently on the move. Participation was only made possible by a helicopter mission: Olympic ski jumping champion Thomas Morgenstern flew Schwarz from Madonna to Carinthia, and the all-rounder came to Velden with a police escort. The day following Christmas Eve, which the World Cup leader spent at home in Radenthein with his family, he went on to Bormio once more – by car, not by helicopter.
A first approach
Yesterday on the “Stelvio”, which was as hard as pimples and undulating as ever, there was no sign that Schwarz barely had time to recharge his batteries following his first win of the season on the slalom slope and the trip to the sports gala. In the first training session, in which the motto of the ÖSV team was obviously a first approach, Schwarz finished only three hundredths of a second behind Vincent Kriechmayr and directly in front of Daniel Hemetsberger in 24th place. The best Austrian was Daniel Danklmaier in 14th place. The first best time was set by the Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin ahead of the American Ryan Cochran-Siegle.
Stadium atmosphere in Lienz
There are no Christmas holidays for the ski ladies either. Tomorrow (giant slalom) and Friday (slalom) Mikaela Shiffrin and Co. will be racing in Lienz. The World Cup course on the Hochstein is ready for racing, although it has rained in the last few days. The target stadium directly in the city was adapted, including adding an additional grandstand. Up to 5,000 spectators should create an atmosphere like in a football stadium. The women’s races in Lienz have been part of the World Cup program since 1997; they take place every two years and alternate with Semmering. Two years ago, the Frenchwoman Tessa Worley, who retired in March this year, won the giant slalom, while the best Austrian was Katharina Troupe in ninth place. In the slalom, the Slovakian Petra Vlhova prevailed ahead of Katharina Liensberger, who returned from the Corona break. Mikaela Shiffrin also had a positive result, albeit from a corona test. Therefore she did not start in Lienz. (chz)
Author
Christoph Zöpfl
Head of sports department
Christoph Zöpfl
