Nadine Fest was the undisputed queen of Crans-Montana this weekend. Already the fastest of the two training sessions and winner on Saturday in the first descent of the weekend, the 24-year-old Austrian did not give in to the pressure and secured the best time once more on Sunday. The American Keely Cashman finished at 0″28, to climb on her very first podium in the European Cup. Sabrina Maier, who had also been solid in training, confirmed the Austrian supremacy, taking 3rd place 0″40 from the winner.
“It’s incredible. I didn’t think that following these two training sessions, I would still be able to win the two races, confided Nadine Fest, her trophy in her hand. It’s true that I put a little pressure on myself because I knew that it had already worked well twice so it would be cool if I might confirm that a third time. And to manage to do it once more a fourth time, I really didn’t expect it and I’m very proud of it!”
Malorie Blanc excels at home
For the Crans-Montana public, one of the highlights of the day was also the excellent performance of the Ayent skier Malorie Blanc, who finished 5th, just 0″13 from the podium! A very promising result for the 19-year-old from Valais, who thus finished best Swiss on Sunday. Stephanie Jenal, who had taken third place the day before, had to settle for 10th place, followed by Nathalie Gröbli (12th), Janine Schmitt (19th), Delia Durrer (20th) and Juliana Suter (22nd).
The European Cup is now giving way to the World Cup, which will stop on the Haut-Plateau next weekend, with a downhill scheduled for Saturday February 25, followed by a super-G the next day. The first training is scheduled for Thursday.
Sim Sim Wissgott, Crans-Montana
