The World Cup season kicked off on Saturday and Sunday on the Rettenbach course in Sölden, Austria. The men´s race on Sunday brought many surprises and many emotional moments.
The King is Back as the Prince Takes a Break
Everybody expected the ruling champion and giant slalom superstar Marco Odermatt to lead straight from the first run. He went with the bib number 1. Yet, with the awed roar from the crowd, the Swiss fell out after skiing superbly in the race’s first half. In the interview, he explained that he simply wanted to win too much and took too many risks. He was not the only one; many renowned racers, including the darlings of the Austrian home crowd, took too many risks on the unforgiving icy slope and took the price.
This threw the race wide open, but everybody kept nervously waiting for Marcel Hirscher, the eight-time overall World Cup winner to set skis on the race course after more than five years of retirement. He was allowed to race with a wild card and was given the bib number 34. Even as Hirscher raced under the Dutch flag, the Austrian crowd cheered him down the mountain as he managed to fit into the best 30 and score World Cup points at 36 of age./
The fans were thrilled with his humble post-race interview for Eurosport TV. He was quite happy with his performance and enjoyed racing. This was a different Hirscher from the performance-driven, single-minded racer of old. “Today, I am allowed to be here, but then I felt like I had to be here,” he stated.
“Furthermore, I was 18 at my first Sölden race. Now, I am 36. The guys racing here with me today might have been born the year I started my World Cup career.”
One thing is clear: We are in for a thrilling show when Marcel Hirscher shakes off the rust from his skis.
The Norwegian Emotions
But, Sölden belonged to the next generation, to the Vikings and their pals. At moments, the race resembled a Norwegian championship. Three Norwegians ranked within the first five, with Filip Zubcic (CRO) and Thomas Tumler (SUI) completing the number. Furthermore, the Brazilian, formerly Norwegian Lucas Pinheiro Braathern, got into the second run with bib 41 and remained in the red winner’s chair with only 5 racers to go.
When his best buddy Atle Lie McGrath toppled him, the crowds could watch the full scale of Norwegian emotions as the best friends (competing under different flags) hugged, happy for each other. This emotional view even triumphed over the Brazilian samba dance Lucas Braathen performed right after he nailed the second run.
But the show was not over. Thomas Tumler (SUI) made one crucial mistake and, despite the fervent cheering of his Swiss teammates, finished in fourteenth place. Filip Zubcic (CRO), who attacked the podium from second place after the first run, had to risk it all. He pushed too hard and did not finish. In the end, three Norwegians finished on the podium (with a Brazilian-Norwegian looking at them from fourth place).
First, Henrik Kristoffersen pulled off a superb run and proved that he still is a man to compete with, finally tweaking his Van Deer equipment to perfection. Eventually, Alexander Steen Olsen silenced all doubters and proved for once that he could keep calm and stand up to pressure. He managed to build on his advantage from the first round, and with only 23 years, he opened the season with a win on one of the most challenging slopes on the tour.
The Sölden races are unique and usually feature racers testing their form. The giant slalom and speed specialists who do not compete in slalom will wait almost five weeks before they enter the slopes again. But one thing is sure: this season just got more interesting.
